Here we take a brief break from the exploration of mishnaic personalities to look back on the whole Second Temple period. If we take the time period as a whole, what are the major lessons that history is begging us to learn?

What happened when we lost everything that we thought we stood for, as a nation?

Why does the month of destruction - Av - lead right into the month of return - Elul - and what lessons can we learn for our own Avodah?