Because each week of Year Course brings a new experience, I feel it necessary to offer a Sports Center-esque “Plays of the Week” for week 28, the most fun, most entertaining, and most memorable week of my year in Israel.

Tuesday
Yom Shlishi (Tuesday) offered a day-long seminar on campus activism for college-bound students. There were workshops on advocacy, information and debating tips on key issues involving Israel, and even a mock Israel fair with different booths. The keynote speaker was Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is well known for explaining Israel's actions in the Lebanon War of 2006 and is often seen on American news networks.  

Regev told the 150 Year Course participants in the crowd how important their role is and will be on college campuses and in Israel after making aliyah. A talented speaker, Regev laid responsibility on our shoulders—something we were all proud to accept.

Wednesday
My Wednesday was a bit less serious. After my normal volunteer work at school and at tennis, a few friends and I attended a concert in Tel Aviv by Shotei Hanevua, the archetypal Eastern Mediterranean reggae/hip-hop/dance group and Israel's 2005 “Band of the Year.”  

Standing about ten feet from the stage, in the middle of my favorite song “Ein Ani,” I pointed a finger at the lead singer on stage. He must have known it was my favorite song (or maybe he spotted me due to the six inches I had over the rest of the crowd) because he pointed right back and through an unseen bridge of music notes our fingers connected. Okay so maybe that didn't happen, but he did point back at me and everyone around us can attest to that!

Thursday
Thursday night, the beginning of the weekend in Israel, was supposed to be more low key. My roommate and I made the fifteen-minute walk across the highway from Bat Yam to Holon to visit some Year Course friends who live in the neighboring suburb. Upon arrival at our friends' apartment, we were greeted at the door by a strangely familiar looking man. He was covered in tattoos, wore a serious amount of bling, a big Oakland Raiders jacket (they went 2-14 this season) and baggy jeans.

I walked past him silently as if I were too cool to stop. I greeted one of the girls from the apartment with a “what's up?” Her reply: “Oh just a normal Year Course night, hanging out with Subliminal.”

For those who don't know, Subliminal is arguably the most famous rap artist in Israel and is also quite popular in America. Apparently, he was trying to court one of my friends from the apartment whom he met at a club. So, upon receiving confirmation that this man was in fact a famous rapper, I went back to introduce myself.  

Rather than using my rap alias, “Lil' neB,” I played it safe with “Ben.”   I even gave him one of those intricate handshakes that has a snap midway through and ends in a one-armed hug—yes, I hugged a rapper. So we talked a bit about how famous he was and his ride of choice, a Chrysler. I hugged a rapper who drives a Chrysler.  

After playing friends with Subliminal for a while, my friends and I instead played fans and took a picture with him and his producer. After one picture, though, he realized that he had forgotten to insert his gold-plated grill (a resplendent retainer of sorts for rappers). In the pictures to follow, he grinned to show grill and I followed suit, though grill-less.

Friday
On Friday, my coach at the tennis center in Bat Yam where I volunteer invited me to watch the first round of the 2007 Davis Cup, the equivalent to the World Cup of professional men's tennis. The contest between Israel and Luxembourg was located at Israel's national stadium in Ramat Hasharon, just north of Tel Aviv.

In the middle of the match, I looked to the end of my row to see a swarm of fans holding out oversized tennis balls and event programs to be autographed. In the middle of the crowd of tennis fans I managed to recognize Shahar Peer, the biggest name in Israeli tennis. Currently ranked sixteenth in the world, Peer nearly defeated eventual champion Serena Williams in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open a few weeks ago.

After about ten minutes of autograph signing and no end in site, Peer knew she had to make a run for it. With the aisle blocked by fans and oversized tennis balls, she needed to exit on the other side of the row, where I happened to be sitting. As she scooted by me, we locked eyes. I implicitly acknowledged her popularity in a traditional head nod, and her head nod and half-smile in return acknowledged my popularity as well. At least that's the story I'm going with. Nonetheless, Israel won the rubber on that sunny Friday and will move on to the second round against Italy in April.

With a week full of fun and fame such as this one, it will surely be hard to top. Hopefully the last three months of Year Course will lead me to more concerts, introduce me to more rappers, and take me to more professional sporting events. Maybe if I someday become a spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister, a lead singer in a band, a rap artist or a professional tennis player, I too can be depicted in the journal of some future Year Courser. Until then, I'll stick to writing about my encounters with the icons.

Ben is one of JVibe's Young Judaea Year Course correspondents. He's from Charleston, S.C. He plays a lot of tennis, worked at Camp Judaea over the summer, loves Israel and traveling, and will study at Stanford University next year.