These days of בין ×”×ž×¦×¨×™× are meant for retrospection on why we are still in exile after so many years. The question arises: why were we redeemed only 70 years after the destruction of the First Temple, but have not been redeemed yet after the destruction of the second temple? The First Temple was destroyed because of the three cardinal sins. How did we merit to be redeemed so fast?
The answer is, after the First Temple, we were very aware of the sins we were doing, we knew we were on the wrong path and we were able to bounce back. But after the Second Temple’s destruction, we still don’t realize how we are sinning; we don’t believe there’s anything wrong with the way we talk or how we feel towards one another. There is no teshuva if we don’t believe we are sinning.
About two years ago, I started going through the laws of lashon hora a little more thoroughly, I was shocked to realize how many laws I had stumbled upon. ×ין ×¢× ×”×רץ חסיד, a person cannot improve without learning the laws. If you have not gone through the laws, it’s guaranteed you’re violating them all the time! One can easily learn the laws nowadays. By the way, we have a tradition: anyone who learned two laws daily from the Chofetz Chaim’s Sefer merited a salvation!