I was born and raised in Montreal. It is the bagel capital of Canada and the world as far as I’m concerned. I know, I know there is another bagel capital: New York. So I am well qualified to burtch and kvetch about bagel.
The word bagel is a collective noun! That means that its plural form is bagel! I have this on good authority. The owners of my favourite and best Deli in the world agree. My Rabbi agrees. Friends and relatives in Canada and the United States agree. And my grade four teacher Mrs. Rosenbloom agreed that the correct plural usage of the word bagel is bagel. I remember her saying, “I have to go to Fairmont and pick up two dozen bagel.”
Think about words like fish, carp, petchah, peyos, cabbage, lamb and shank as in shank bone. You wouldn’t say, “Zaidy picked up three carps for the Gefilte Fishes.” And you wouldn’t say, “I went to get my peyoses cut.” – well, you wouldn’t ever say that!
So stop with the bagels and get with the bagel.
Tags: Montreal Bagel