While people tend to learn more about the Destruction of the Second Beit HaMikdash by the Romans because it was more recent and we still suffer from the reasons behind it, the Destruction of the First shares many similarities to what happened near Gaza.
First of all, the Bavelim (Babylonians) behaved with absolute savagery — surpassing the Romans in sheer barbarism.
Homes — including the House of Hashem — were burned and Jews slaughtered.
Jews were taken into captivity and some forced to walk for long stretches in those conditions.
Jewish daughters were abused.
The Bavelim showed no mercy on even nursing babies.
An outside of Eretz Yisrael, fellow Jews looked on in relative safety with profound grief and horror.
One of the reasons for the First Destruction was avodah zarah and we know there was a tumah statue at the tumah party. Even though, as stated in a previous post, it's unlikely any of the partygoers understood this as avodah zarah, let alone worship it, but it stood as a symbol of avodah zarah, even if the partygoers did not mean it to be.
Another reason for the First Destruction was inappropriate & immodest relationships, which also occurred at the party.
Since the inception of Medinat Yisrael, Leftist-Communist policies and ideals have contributed to the deaths of thousands of Jews in wars and terror attacks, plus the spiritual death of many more.
Yet just like Yirmiyahu Hanavi (Jeremiah the Prophet) strove with all his heart, mind, and body to prevent that First Destruction and the slaughter, and just as he remained heart-broken over the slaughter and suffering of his errant but beloved brothers and sisters, we too are in agony over what happened and desperately seek how to improve & strengthen ourselves to awaken Heavenly Compassion and prevent this from happening to anyone else.
As Rav Dov Kook recently said when asked what we should work on, he said we all know what we need to work on in ourselves.
An Outpouring of Ahavat Yisrael & Unity
And we are seeing a tremendous amount of ahavat Yisrael.
All different types within the frum community in particular rose to the occasion and continuously performs outstanding acts of generosity, chessed, and the fulfillment of spiritual needs.
A great many Jews whose external appearance seems far removed from Torah Judaism now reveal their true selves as they embrace with mesirut nefesh a variety of mitzvot.
Videos and photos now appear of young woman cutting up their immodest clothing.
Tremendous amounts of prayers and good deeds, with an extra emphasis on refining difficult middot, and a vast teshuvah movement among all different types of Jews has gone on steroids.
Overall, Am Yisrael of all stripes has sought to meet this horror with renewed teshuvah.
I cannot remember a time when such an absolute horror was met by such an outpouring of teshuvah — which is exactly the right response in Hashem's Eyes.
We Want Mashiach NOW.
Some were also saved by prayer or by taking upon themselves teshuvah during what they believed to be their last moment.
From beginning to end, this modern churban has been terrifying and heart-breaking. It's hard to even think about the captives because of the immense suffering they must be enduring.
So many Jews of different backgrounds have come together now.
But mostly, there is a feeling of not being able to tolerate this any longer.
Even those of us in relatively "safe" areas of Eretz Yisrael do not feel so safe.
Even if we weren't there and even if it didn't happen to anyone we knew personally, it feels deeply personal.
It feels like a deep and personal trauma.
So many people now feel acute desperation for Mashiach. Not everyone literally feels the fear, but many of us do (me included).
And so many of us feel like, "We cannot live like this."
We just want Mashiach to come NOW.
We desperately want the Geula b'rachamim NOW.
I still remember the words of Rav Gershon Edelstein of Ponevezh Yeshivah of blessed memory when during an interview (the-lessons-for-us-revealed-in-the-words-of-2-major-torah-sages-in-modern-times.html), the interviewer blessed Rav Edelstein that he should merit to greet Mashiach soon, and Rav Edelstein replied:
"All of us together. All the Jews."