What Is More of a Tragedy than the Deaths of Thousands of Jews?

There are few, if any, nations that have experienced as many tragedies as the Jewish People. And yet, the vast majority of these tragedies are never commemorated. No fast days, no special prayers, nothing.

Here are just a few examples to illustrate the point:

"Herod was a servant of the Hasmonean house ... He said: Who is it that interprets, 'From among your brethren you shall set a king over you'? The Sages? He rose and killed all the sages. He left only Bava ben Buta to seek counsel from him" (Bava Batra 3).

A national tragedy! All the Torah scholars were killed! Did the Sages of later generations set aside a day to mark this tragedy? Did they commemorate it in any way? No.

Another example: "Nebuzaradan saw Zechariah's blood bubbling. He asked the priests: What is this? ... They told him: This was a priest and prophet who prophesied to the Jewish People about the destruction of Jerusalem, and they killed him. He told them, 'I will appease him.' He brought Torah scholars and killed them there, but the blood did not stop seething. He brought young children and killed them there, but the blood did not calm. He brought young priests and killed them there, but the blood did not rest, until he had killed nine hundred and forty thousand people over it, and still [the blood] did not rest. Nebuzaradan approached the blood and said: 'Zechariah, Zechariah, I have destroyed the best of them! Would you have me destroy them all?' Immediately the blood rested" (Sanhedrin 96).

A national tragedy, nine hundred and forty thousand Jews murdered! Did the Sages establish anything to remember this tragedy? Nothing.

And yet... for the loss of far fewer lives, our Sages instituted mourning for all generations, every year, for over a month!

"They said: Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students from Gevat to Antipatris, and they all died in one period because they did not treat each other with respect. And the world was desolate until Rabbi Akiva came to our teachers in the south and taught them. Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehudah, Rabbi Yosei, Rabbi Shimon, and Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua -- and they reestablished the Torah at that time. It was taught: 'They all died between Pesach and Shavuot' ...  and they all died a terrible death" (Yevamot 62b).

The scale of the tragedy: twenty-four thousand. And what do we do to remember this? We don't get married between Pesach until Lag BaOmer (and many not until Shavuot), we don't cut our hair, we don't listen to music, and much more. How can we understand the disparity in how our Sages related to these tragedies?

The reason is: "because they did not treat each other with respect" – and the message is loud and clear. Treating our fellow Jews with respect is a fundamental principle of the Torah!