Conference taveng::bagels

976.0. "Germamia of Edom" by GAON::jem (Anacronym: an outdated acronym) Thu Sep 13 1990 02:04

The "Big Four" WWII allies granted their official go-ahead for German
reunification, it was reported yesterday. 

Here are some insights from the Talmud apropos of this momentous decision
(from Megilla 6b):

	(Our forefather) Jacob said before the Holy One, blessed be He, 
	"Sovereign of the Universe, grant not to Esau the wicked the 
	desire of his heart, draw not out his bit." This refers to Germamia
	of Edom, for should they go forth, they would destroy the whole 
	world. R. Hama ben Hanina said, "there are three hundred crowned 
	heads in Germamia of Edom."

The commentators note that the "Germamia" mentioned to here likely refers
to what was then called "Ashkenaz," and the proper reading is "Germania." 

From "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," P. 121:

	By the end of the Middle Ages, which had seen Britain and France 
	emerge as unified nations, Germany remained a crazy patchwork of
	some three hundred individual states.  
	
The three hundred princedoms were the result of the Peace of Westphalia,
at the conclusion of the Thirty Years War (1618-48). The region was not 
known as "German" until around the sixteenth century, the Talmud having 
been completed about a thousand years before.

Some things to consider in your Rosh Hashana prayers...

Jem

(Credit to Rabbi Motty Berger for the material.)