WATCH: Defeated Team in Sarachek Game Joins Winning Team for Dancing Post-Game

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Jacob Herenstein posted the following video and caption to his Facebook page after the Harkham Gaon Lions beat Hillel Pittsburgh, by a score of 41-34:

This is what Sarachek is all about- realizing that we are all one in the same. Even though this game was a consolation game, every single person in the gym had a great time. Easily the most enjoyable and most memorable Sarachek game I’ve ever seen!

Watch the video here:

The 20th seeded Harkham Gaon Lions won their first ever Sarachek game at the hands of #18 Hillel Pittsburgh, by a score of 41-34 on Sunday Night, in what would prove to be a night of many firsts.

While the Tier-IV Consolation game itself turned out to be a good basketball game, it was what happened when basketballs were not being dribbled that really got the crowd going.

In something that was so unprecedented to Sarachek, that no one in the crowd knew what to do, Coach Nathanael Harkham, of Harkham began to dance to the Jewish music that was being played during timeouts and stoppages of play. As we have learned by watching him, Coach Harkham is a very spiritual man, and has his team constantly playing with the mentality of, “as long as we try our hardest, the result is in God’s hand”.

What we didn’t know however, was just how free-spirited Coach Harkham is, and just how willing he’d be to literally treat basketball timeouts like a dance party. But then something amazing happened. Not only did the fans join him in dancing during timeouts, but even his own players, the MacsLive staff, eventually the opposing team’s players, and even one of the referees joined Coach Harkham in dancing to Jewish music during stoppages of play.

Seeing the Hillel players join in on the dancing, after having some original hesitations given that it was still a competitive basketball game, was a beautiful sight. Following the game, MacsLive interviewed players from both teams (also a MacsLive first I believe) on center court. Hillel’s Yoshi Mahony was asked what his thoughts on the dancing were, and why they ultimately joined in with Harkham, to which he responded, “We all have the same father (God), so why not join in”.

Mahony’s response was such a heart-warming answer, because it reminded everyone that religion and faith can even be maximized during competition, and that at the end of the day, no matter how intense Sarachek can get, we’re all Jews and we’re all brothers here. After the interviews, a legitimate on-court dance party ensued for a number of minutes between both teams before they head into their respective locker rooms.

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