Its a relatively “new” thing. In the Alte heim, one yid meeting another might inquire ? וואס מאכסטו or other variations of “How are you doing bro? or”How are you?”.. What might be interpreted as a perfectly innocent question in English could simultaneously be deemed a provocation in Yiddish, a lashon which does not lend itself to happy talk. “How SHOULD I be?” might be a fairly neutral answer to the question. While theoretically possible to say “gants gut”, I don’t think I’ve ever heard that response.
If you are a non-conformist, perhaps initiate the greeting with “aleichem shalom”, leaving the bewildered respondent to figure out whether he should revert with a “shalom aleichem” (which should have been your initial greeting” OR just echo your aleichem shalom and continue on his way trying to figure out whether he had just been dissed.
Menu