If you’re living in this country of 8 million, it’s almost certain you’re not eating whatever you want, whenever you want. In traditional Judaism, there is a special Kosher diet where adherents cannot eat particular animals (namely hooved animals like pigs) or eat dairy and meat in the same meal. I’m fairly sure I’ve been keeping Kosher, but it’s definitely not due to any religious observance on my part. Here, the fact is most of the time one simply doesn’t have the opportunity to break this custom. Dining halls serve dairy meals during breakfast and dinner while any meat is served at lunch. 

Though this reality makes the custom universal on campus, some people take keeping Kosher more seriously than others. The other night, my religious friend couldn’t eat dinner with me at the dining hall; it had been less than 6 hours since we ate chicken at lunch, and thus eating would’ve been un-Kosher according to his strict understanding of the tradition.

Dietary restrictions are a large part of Israeli culture, religious or not. I’ve met six vegans here, all of whom are secular. In comparison, I’m pretty sure for my entire life I’ve only personally known three vegetarians in St. Louis. 

The culture is different here in that even high schoolers heavily meditate over which types of food they choose to put into their bodies. It might sound stupid, but this idea of holding true to a diet has rubbed off on me. It feels like following a diet and not following a diet come from two very different outlooks on life.

You can go through life as it comes to you. Eating anything decent you can find in the cafeteria, trying to scrounge the best meal out of a list of disappointing options. You’re simply trying to get by – if it’s the day the lunch ladies are experimenting with something funky you’ll just play it safe and get a cheeseburger. 

On the other hand, you can try and stand by a diet. Rather than approaching the times as they come, you decide to stay true to a creed no matter the meal. So what if the vegan options are lousy one day? You’re not a hedonist, and you’re not going to eat the aluminum wrapped burger even though it might be the best choice out of a poor selection. No, you answer to a set of values that are stronger than a lump of bland beef squashed between two stale buns. You don’t sail with the winds of fate, letting the Moirai take you where they please, you stand firm and carve your identity through the chilly breeze.