הִתְמַכְּרוּת
Before I moved back to Israel in 2007 and opened up Ulpan La-Inyan a year later, I was training as a psychotherapist in Los Angeles. My first post was to Beit T’shuva, a Jewish center for addiction recovery on Venice Blvd.
The Hebrew word for addiction is הִתְמַכְּרוּת, of the root מ.כ.ר (m.k.r) meaning sale – since one sells him/herself, in a way, to the object of addiction.
In context:
בֵּית תְּשׁוּבָה הוּא מֶרְכַּז יְהוּדִי לִגְמִילָה מֵהִתְמַכְּרוּת.
Beit T’shuva (literally, House of Return) is a Jewish center for recovery (literally, weaning) from addiction.
התמכרות comes from the reflexive-intensive הִתְפַעֵל verb,לְהִתְמַכֵּר.
For example:
לֹא קָשֶׁה לְהִתְמַכֵּר לְעִשּׁוּן.
It’s not difficult to become addicted to smoking.
Someone addicted is מָכוּרif a male and מְכוּרָהif a female.
For example:
הִיא מְכוּרָה לְפֵייסְבּוּק.
She is addicted to Facebook.
Visit Ktzat Ivrit.