For those of you new to the concept of "Israelite", you may be wondering what a day in my life looks like. Is it terribly different from yours?
The answer is, my life is rather like yours. I sleep in a bed, I drink coffee in the morning, I go to my job, I cook dinner with my husband, we watch movies, and so on and so on. However, there are some key differences that tend to pop out when compared to the life of your average American.
Though I wouldn't say following the Law of God is exactly difficult, there are some big shifts from the way I used to do things. Some background: I'm only recently an Israelite. I was a non-denominational Christian until about four years ago. My parents were raised agnostic and Catholic, respectively. They cycled through Mormonism, Catholicism, and Protestantism before/during my young childhood. We eventually settled on "non denominational" because it seemed to be the most straight-forward the most lacking in what is colloquially known as "B.S.". Sometime in my teens, my dad became a pastor of our church (without formal training--remember, less B.S.). In our efforts to find the best, most truthful version of our religion, we stumbled upon Israelitism. Now, by "stumbled", I don't mean we talked to someone or found another church or read a book, I mean we realized what was already there, and began to do our best to adhere to it. (There'll be full explanation of this at some point, but I just want to cover the basics now). I won't lie; at first, the process was a little hinky. I was at college at the time, so a lot of what I was doing was on my own. I didn't understand some bits; I forgot others, but now, four years later, I think I'm doing alright.
So, the "biggest" differences, as some people see them:
On Saturdays, called Sabbaths, I do not buy anything, I do not start fires, nor do I work. Our days begin and end at sundown, rather than at 12:00a.m. So, starting on Friday night, when the sun goes down, until Saturday night, when the sun goes down, I relax. I do not go shopping. I do not light my grill. I do not earn money. This works out rather well with my current job; as a teacher, I only need to be at school Monday-Friday. I do not grade papers on Sabbaths, and I don't plan lessons. When I was still a college student, I would not write papers, read coursework, or check my school emails on Sabbaths. The point is relaxation and having a day to devote to God. It may seem difficult, but it only becomes so when I'm dealing with non-Israelite friends and family. I do my shopping on Sundays or Friday nights; I clean on Fridays and Sundays, and, on Saturdays, I always sleep in. In this way, Israelites are similar to Jews; they celebrate their Sabbaths at the same time, and they follow some of the same rules, but, in many ways, they are stricter.
Another large difference comes in with food. There are many things American eat that I don't (for a more comprehensive list, check out the Bible, Deuteronomy 14 and Leviticus 11). The most commonly freaked-over thing I do not eat is pork. No bacon, no pork chops, no ham, and no sausage. The list also includes things like shrimp, crabs, and catfish. Thanks to the commonality of these animals in American food, a-day-in-the-life includes a LOT of label checking by yours truly. Did you know pork bits are used to make marshmallows? What about processed cheeses? Jell-o? Pre-made guacamole dip? Pig is found in all of these foods and many more. Shrimp and shellfish are found in other surprising foods. Kimchi? Instant noodles? Imitation crab (Et tu, Brute?)? Point being, there's a lot of it floating around, so I have to be careful when I go shopping. There have been more than a couple times I've had to throw out a food I've just bought because I hadn't looked at the ingredients list closely enough. A recent event with on-sale yogurt comes to mind.....
Since I've moved into a house containing only myself and my husband, these rules have been a lot easier to follow. When I was in college, I ran into the problem of the cafeteria. Every once in a blue moon, they would replace our "100% Beef!" hot dogs with pork hot dogs; it was really frustrating. The kitchen staff would not advertise the change, and it wasn't until biting into the things we'd realize they were pork. Also, for a while, I lived with my best friend in an apartment. She would every once in awhile cook something I couldn't eat. The problem would come in when we were cooking simultaneously; a splash of her soup into mine, and I had to throw the whole thing out. But, now, I have control over my kitchen and home, and it isn't an issue. Visiting people, though, phew.
These aren't the only animals I don't eat, nor are these the only rules. I also don't eat vultures, turtles, cockroaches or rabbits, but those types of animals seem to cause less uproar than my refusal to eat pork. The other rules cover the condition of the animal. I cannot eat any animal that dies in any way "on accident". Diseased animals are verboten. Animals killed by other animals are forbidden. Road kill is right out. I also do not consume blood (no vampirism for me!) or fat. Granted, it's hard to get all the fat or blood out of, say, a steak. I do my best. When I can help it, I trim the fat off of those chicken breasts and drain my roasts.
Other than these two aspects of my life, my average day is mostly like any other person, and it's only rarely "problems" are caused by my beliefs. It's not as if one is expected to chow down on a cockroach salad with some road kill roast on the daily. But, picture a for-profit, on Saturday, barbecue that my family or friends really-really want me to attend. It can be hard to say no in a situation like that, but I do. The only other time my life diverts noticeably from that of the everyman is during Holidays--but that will be another post for another time :)
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