"The chagim"

There is a time period in the Jewish calendar known as "the chagim," which is the pperiod of holidays that extends from the Jewish New Year (aka "Rosh Hashana") through Yom Kippur (aka "the Day of Atonement") until Sukkot (aka "Feast of the Tabernacles," or "the holidays where Jews build those little booths/huts in their backyards"). This is a period that is always in the fall, right after school begins. In NYC, school staff prays for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kiippur to fall on school days so they have extra vacation days; in Israel this is a period that causes a lot of backup. For example, deliveries.

I sent a lift. It's supposed to land a few days before Rosh Hashana; the guy already said to me, "Oh, nothing will happen with it until after Rosh Hashana." When I asked him if I could get it before Sukkot (about 2 weeks later), his answer was, "I'm not sure."

The chagim time period puts this country into a semi-slow-motion time period. While not everything comes to a halt, many things get considerably slowed down and it's perfectly accepted to say, "Well, it's the chagim...you know, things are busy...after the chagim for sure." Well, what good is that when you need things before?

Good thing I brought a new shirt back for Eli for Rosh Hashana instead of sending it on the lift.