riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) (08/21/84)
I was astonished on a trip to Europe last year to discover that bagels
are unknown in Germany. Although I knew that they were introduced to
this country by Jews and that the word "bagel" was properly Yiddish and
not German, I still expected that Germans would at least be aware of
what bagels were. No dice. The bagel seems to be one of many elements
of the German Jewish subculture which have disappeared from Germany
altogether. (Perhaps I would have had more luck in Poland or
Czechoslovakia, where many of the "German" Jews actually lived.)
By the way, the word "bagel" is ultimately German in its etymology.
Look it up some time.
--- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.")
--- {ihnp4,harvard,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddleabeles@mhuxm.UUCP (abeles) (08/30/84)
Subject: Re: Bagel trivia (Re: Need Bagel Recipe)
I don't know you, your family background, or who your friends are, but
I'm a little shocked by some of your statements.
"more luck in Poland or Czechoslovakia, where many of the "German" Jews
actually lived"
This statement implies to me that,
(1) no German Jews exist today, or at least don't live in Germany
(small problem with this statement)
(2) certain Jews who lived in Poland or Czechoslovakia claimed to be
actually from Germany
(this is really misguided. No Polish Jews spoke German. Certain
Czechoslovakian Jews did speak German, as did the non Jews near
them. However, those Jews who did speak German in Czechoslovakia
would not have known what a bagel is.)
You are TOTALLY CONFUSED on the subjects of bagels and Jewish history!
Unbelievable that someone with your ignorance on these subjects could
actually write something in public.
FURTHERMORE, you seem to be under the impression that bagels are a Jewish
phenomenon. Most likely, they are a form of bread which comes from certain
Eastern European (Slavic) areas. Calling a bagel Jewish is probably similar
to calling pita bread Jewish (just because you may have been to Israel,
or to an Israeli Felafel shop in the US, and found Jews eating pita bread).
Pita bread comes from the Mideast.
INCIDENTALLY, Jews who lived in Germany probably grew up not even knowing
what a bagel is! So much for your monologue on bagels.
--J. Abelesriddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) (09/04/84)
>> You are TOTALLY CONFUSED on the subjects of bagels and Jewish history! >> Unbelievable that someone with your ignorance on these subjects could >> actually write something in public. I'm sorry if I've offended anyone with anything I've said about Jews or bagels; I assure you that any offensive statements were made out of ignorance, not malice. If I'm misinformed about the Jewish and/or German origin of bagels, then wouldn't it be more appropriate to enlighten me than to flame at me? I really would like to know more about bagels, not to mention about Jewish history. (Extensive followups on the latter subject don't belong in net.cooks, however; how about net.nlang?) --- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.") --- {ihnp4,harvard,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle