I am not Jewish, but have a friend who is.  The following quotes are courtesy of
her, and are from the Talmud, I believe.   I copied them down quickly, so they
may be a little inaccurate, but I believe the meaning is correct.

'Breastfeeding her child is one of a wife's obligations to her husband'

'The average time of nursing should be 2 years, a child should nurse for 3, 4 or
5
years, and a child who is unwell may nurse for 6 years.'

'One should not wean a child unless there is a specific reason for doing so, the
child should wean himself'

'The woman sat and breastfed her son.'   She didn't go on pilgrimage because of
this.  The commentaries say that breastfeeding the child  is most important.

My friend says that she has a book which specifically mentions all(?) references
to breastfeeding in the talmud.  Contact me privately for details.

My friend's understanding of Proverbs 22.6 is that the child learns by example
from the mother during the time of breastfeeding.

Samuel was weaned at 3 years, as was Isaac.  See above for general guidance on
time of weaning.  She also says that 'Na'ar' can mean a youth up to age 19.  A
baby/toddler is different.

As regards the Ezzo's Parent Controlled Feeding, she was sceptical.  There is
nothing that she knows of to support such a view and all the evidence from
Talmud sounds very child centred.  eg  'There is nothing wrong with a child
crying for his mother, or his mother responding to his cry.'

Judy, she was interested to know more of what you do in beer Sheva, as she has
lots of contacts in Israel  - perhaps you could e-mail me privately?

Mary Broadfoot, Paisley Scotland