Ooooooo, Melissa! How did you know that root meanings of words
is one of my favoritest topics? You know how it is, when you just
do your thing, and suddenly someone says something and your whole
prospectus of life changes? I was in first year college, and had
"studied" the Hebrew language since first grade, but then I was
taking a course with a wonderful man who opened my eyes for all
time. He simply took words which everyone in the class knew, the
words for "dedication", "purification", "education" and "scholar"
and showed us how they came from the same root, and then
delivered a mini-lecture on how much this revealed of the Jewish
culture. Yes indeedy, I love the picture of bfing=nursing, makes
me (an - ugh - bottlefed baby) feel all warm.
The Hebrew word for bfing is from the root meaning to suck, so
no big revelations there. It is tantalizingly close to the word
meaning "give" or "grant", but I'm sure the experts would shoot
me down. Lactnet is so much fun!!! Best regards, Judy Knopf