I had to look up "rivels" -- "Rivels are an old-fashioned pasta dish usually made by dropping tiny pieces of pasta into boiling soup. Rivels are probably Germanic in origin, and they make an easily prepared short "noodle", which have gone out of favor in modern cooking. They are usually cooked in a chicken soup."

I don't know why it has "gone out of favor in modern cooking", unless it is just because regular pasta noodles are so conveniently available. :confused: