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So you are not in the least bit strict about it... 'doing your best' to avoid means you do eat it!
They probably thought they can bring it for themselves. Asking THEM would give you an answer... we are just guessing!
Why would you be offended when you admit to the occasional pork?
And why assume they are planning to feed it to your child?
Sounds like more than the bacon is an issue...
Exactly.
OP, there's a TONE to the accusations.
Like using the word "apparently" brought the bacon. Who else did it, the bacon fairy?
Plotting to feed it to the baby? Come on now. LOL. Does your husband agree that your son will abstain from pork? (I personally don't see why a two year old should be getting BACON anyway but ....). Is your son going to be raised in the Jewish faith?
Plus, you said YOU do your best to not eat pork. You didn't say "we". So IF your husband eats pork why can't his parents? Especially if you NEVER asked them to avoid pork when you are coming to dinner why would they think they can't eat their own pork at your/their son's house?
What did your husband say? What do his parent's think is his bacon status?
Also how is it a "Jewish Home" if your husband isn't Jewish AND eats bacon and you don't keep kosher? IT sounds to me like an interfaith home.
And I say this as a former vegan and seeing meat especially PORK in my fridge would have turned my stomach for those 5 or so years. I avoided the meat isle for years ugh. But what's fair is fair.
Are you sure you're not mad because you don't want the bacon in there because you're going to eat it?
If you kept a kosher kitchen, I'd understand. I have Jewish friends who are very strict about what's permitted in their homes. They have no problems telling forgetful visitors to finish eating a meat and cheese hoagie outside---literally while they are in mid-bite. But even they wouldn't freak out if someone accidently fed their children non-kosher food. (I should know because I once fed my one friend's children salami and milk.) They'd just remind them what kosher is. Not everyone knows what kosher truly means and entails, and people who know often forget because it's not their lifestyle.
Tricky. My first thought is that your in-laws don't consider "bacon" to be "pork". It's bacon. :-) They probably just weren't thinking.
If you are Jewish and your wife isn't, are you raising your child in the Jewish faith? I had understood that if the mother wasn't Jewish, a child could not claim to be Jewish, but that seems to be the case for Orthodox or Conservative groups, not necessarily for Reform. Anyway, have you normally forbidden your child to eat bacon/pork? Does your wife follow your dietary laws, or is she free to eat what she wishes? (if that's the case, good luck explaining that to a 10 year old . . . :-)
If it offends you, then ask your wife to remind her parents about the "house rules" or discreetly replace it with turkey bacon (that should be ok, shouldn't it?)
This is NOT the hill you want to die on, trust me.
OP, your post doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. You state you don't keep a kosher home, and yet are possibly offended that your in-laws want some bacon for their breakfast? I'd be happy they were thoughtful enough to contribute some groceries.
There's MUCH more to keeping kosher than just not eating bacon.
As for to the OP, if the OP is a female then her child is automatically Jewish; if the OP is male, then the child will have to convert to be Jewish.
Anyway, we don't eat pork or other restricted foods in our home, but we certainly don't keep a fully kosher kitchen either.
Why not consider yourself lucky since you don't eat pork and probably wouldn't want to cook it for them, that they brought their own so you don't have to bother with it? Why would you not want THEM to have foods they enjoy? Really just because you don't eat pork doesn't mean they shouldn't. If you don't want your child to eat any, then just ask them not to feed him any. Why the drama? If you don't want it in your house, then you should have made it clear to them before they came to stay with you that while there, they will be expected to follow your religious views.
So I don't keep kosher, but I do my best to avoid eating pork.
The in laws are staying with us, and have apparently bought bacon (and put it in my refrigerator). They, of course, know I'm Jewish, and have always made an effort to not serve pork when I'm over at their house. Which is really more than I've ever asked for, though if I knew pork chops were on the menu, I would make other dining arrangements.
Anyway, should I be offended by this bacon? I assume it means they'll be attempting to feed it to my two year old while I'm at work.
Remind them you are Jewish and never have pork products in your home at all. Encourage them to cook it while you are there so that it is gone, all the while making sure your child doesn't get any.
Many Jewish people do eat pork. This isn't addressed to the OP specifically but to others on this thread. Just because someone is Jewish it doesn't mean they don't eat pork or shellfish, although you should always ask beforehand if you don't already know their dietary habits.
I'd be more bothered by the smell of frying bacon than the presence of bacon in the fridge. It's your house so it's fair for you to quietly explain to your in-laws that you would prefer not to cook pork products in the house. Be nice and kind in saying so and I doubt they would be offended.
If you think the in-laws must have bacon because it's daily routine that will make them grumpy to miss, then for the sake of family relationships you may want to consider getting a separate frying pan for them to use and designating that pan as the only pan they can use for the bacon for all of their visits.
Only you know your in-laws and the best way to proceed.
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