[HANASHIR:11519] please: watch your hebrew grammar!!!

[erik contzius <contzius...>]

I hate to be harsh on this point, but it really bugs
me:

THERE IS NO SUCH WORD AS "B'NAI MITZVOT!"

It's like saying "Mothers-in-laws"... it doesn't mean
anything!

The plural of Bar Mitzvah is B'nai Mitzvah.
The plural of Bat Mitzvah is B'not Mitzvah.

(okay... now that i got that out of my system, i'll
explain what's up).

The term "Bar Mitzvah" is in the form of "s'mikhut"
which is a form of contraction in Hebrew. You can't
see any real modification in this, the singular, male
form, but I'll illustrate with another often abused
form:

A blessing in Hebrew is a "b'rakha"
To talk about a blessing over something, one could say
(for example, over food), Ha-Brakha shel Ha-Mazon (the
blessing OF food), or in s'mikhut, BirKAT HaMazon. The
feminine ending of the word "brakha" changes to
"birkat" to indicate a contraction meaning, "Blessing
OF." To say, "Let's say the Birkat" literally means,
"Let's say the blessing of." Of what? Food? Maybe...
but you could also say "Birkat shalom" (blessing OF
peace) or "Birkat gomel" (blessing OF being redeemed).
The smikhut combines two words into one term. Now, if
you wanted to pluralize Birkat Hamazon, for example
(why, i dunno... just an example), we don't want to
pluralize the food, but the blessing. So one might
say, "B'rakhot Hamazon" and leave it at that.

all this goes to say, the plural of Bar Mitzvah is
B'nai Mitzvah. (whew!). Sorry for the rant. it's
almost shabbes.

For more details, try the Dik Duk Buk, a rudimentary
book on Hebrew grammar.

Gutn Shabbes, y'all



=====
Cantor Erik L. F. Contzius
Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Our new baby! (Photos to be updated regularly):
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My synagogue: http://www.kenesethisrael.org/
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