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Conference taveng::bagels

Title:BAGELS and other things of Jewish interest
Notice:1.0 policy, 280.0 directory, 32.0 registration
Moderator:SMURF::FENSTER
Created:Mon Feb 03 1986
Last Modified:Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1524
Total number of notes:18709

230.0. "WHY CHANGE CONFER. NAME 'BAGELS'" by PARVAX::MAGNES () Thu Nov 13 1986 05:16

I first discovered this note file about a month ago and have been 
it since.It is great ti have forum to express and share ideas
that relate to jewish topics
	On this note i would like to bring up an issue that has
been bothering me since i first came upon this notes conference.
That is the name of the conference "BAGELS".The word "BAGELS" is 
not bad in itself,i think it's almost a symptom or a symbol of 
how some of us see ourselves.Maybey it reflects a certain type of 
humor that some of us have grown with and have come to think
nothing of.
	It just seems to me that of all the names which we have
that are associated with judiasm and a history that span over 
5000 yrs. starting in sinai with the 10 commandments thru 
persecutions,inquisitions and the holocaust,from the defeat of
the greeks by the macabes to the warsaw ghetto uprising,to the
Israeli war of independence.Not  to mention our great leaders
and thinkers who have changed the world
	With this great history in mind,I think we should be
able to come up with a more positive connotation then the word 
"BAGELS".Really what in g-d's name does it have to do with 
judiasm or Israel.I wonder how many other groups would use a name
like that to represent themselves.Would members of the black
community use "WATERMELON" as a name or  would members of the 
italian community have  have the name "SPAGETTI" represent 
themselves.No i don't think so .I think s sense of pride
would be the reason.
	To sum it up,I think a conference on judiasm should 
have a name that is relevant to the topic and most important
pride in the one conference(as far as i know)that represents 
jewish thougth on the net. 
..as a side note i can bet there are many jews through out 
the world that have never even heard of the word bagels	
	Some of u may think that i have gone overboard and
made much to much of the whole issue.but i believe this 
discussion does have merit
	i have typed in a few names as suggestions "macabes"
"l'chaim" or "shalom".There are plenty of others.hopefully
there will be other suggestions or at the very least i hope 
this note generates some dicussion.
	one last final pt. i did not mean to come out of the
blue and criticize anyone or this conference.On the contrary
as i mentioned before i think it a great conference and want 
to thank the people who put it together

		steve

     


T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
230.1It was I. The grand high exhaulted Bagel eater.ZEPPO::MAHLERAn X-SITE-ing position !Thu Nov 13 1986 14:524

    You're welcome.  

230.2hey man, lighten up!4158::GOLDSTEINWe're all bozos on this busThu Nov 13 1986 19:5715
    
    If I were starting the file from scratch today, I might not name
    it "BAGELS".  But in America at least, the word carries reasonable
    connotations.  It is quintessentially Jewish.  It reflects cultural
    heritage and identity.  It skirts the "religious" issues nicely,
    which is good considering that this is _not_ a pure analog to the
    ::CHRISTIAN conference (which is hard core religiousity).  I should
    also point out that the usenet Jewish newsgroup has been renamed
    (as part of the Big Renaming of Everything) from net.religion.jewish
    to soc.culture.jewish.
    
    Making it a Hebrew word would make its purpose less obvious to the
    Digital community at large.  We could just call it "JEWISH", but
    that wouldn't be keeping in line with our erstwhile moderator's
    style. :-)
230.3ZEPPO::MAHLERAn X-SITE-ing position !Thu Nov 13 1986 20:158
    
    
    
    	I'm touched.
    
    
    
    
230.4Bagels is a good and appropriate nameYOUNG::YOUNGFri Nov 14 1986 13:4213
    Besides, bagels are one of the few things which have recently been
    exported from Jewish culture to the Yuppie/WASP/American culture.
    (How it was modified is beyond the scope of this note).
    
    I think the Bagels name conveys the spirit of the notesfile much
    better than Jewish, or any hebrew word would, and it suggests an
    American Jewish sense of humor, which I feel is highly appropriate
    to this notesfile.
    
    Mike, you chose well.
    
    				Paul
    
230.5I don't understandPARVAX::MAGNESFri Nov 14 1986 22:0815
    	In responce 230.4 by Paul 
    >Besides, bagels are one of the few things whuch have recently
    >been exported from jewish culture to the yuppie/wasp/american culture
    
    	i really don't understand the significance of that 
    >i think that bagels name conveys the spirit of the notesfile
    >much better than jewish,or any hebrew word ,and it suggests an
    >american jewish sense of humor
    
    i can see that i'm not going to change any one's mind, but just
    to generate a little more discussion could u Paul elaborate 
    a little more on what u think "jewish sense of humor is all
    about.
    
    			steve
230.6Because bagels are holey?YOUNG::YOUNGWed Nov 19 1986 20:1231
    The choice of name for a notesfile should be indicative of what
    is in the notesfile.  I guess you could pick a name such as
    JEWISH_RELIGION_AND_CULTURE, but it is long and boring.  Using a
    Hebrew word as the name would be a poor choice, as many Jews and
    most non-Jews do not speak Hebrew and therefore would not understand
    the name.
    
    What is a Jewish sense of humor is a fine topic for a base note.
    I did not say a Jewish sense of humor, I said an American-Jewish
    sense of humor, but that is still broad enough.
    
    A lot of what I perceive as the American-Jewish sense of humor comes
    from Eastern European Jewish traditions, and from the Yiddish theater
    and culture.  Most people, and Jews are certainly no exception, have
    the ability to laugh at themselves and their traditions.  Bagels (and
    lox) are a fine American-Jewish tradition, and hence one which can
    be laughed at.
    
    Abraham's son was named for laughter, as have the many who have
    been named after him.  And the Talmud records at least one time
    where the Holy One laughed, such that the Rabbis on earth heard
    it.
    
    Jews have been laughing for a long time - Much longer than they
    have had notes files, perhaps for longer than they have discussed
    religion and culture.
    
    I still think BAGELS is a good name.
    
    				Paul