“Upon[FP1] what [sin] was the land destroyed?” (Yirmiyahu 9:11)
“It’s a decree upon the deceased that he will be forgotten from the heart.” (Pesachim 54b)
When a person dies Hashem decrees that the memory of the person slowly fades as time elapses. This allows the intensity of the pain to ease. We see this principle from Yaakov Avinu who mourned Yosef for 22 years. The inconsolable nature of his mourning was proof that Yosef was still alive for a dead person is eventually forgotten. (Rav Chaim Friedlander Sifsei Chaim)
Napoleon Bonaparte believed that contented soldiers breed a successful army. Thus he was bothered when he saw one of his young soldiers sitting on the dusty earth and weeping bitterly. Napoleon graciously offered his personal assistance but to his astonishment the soldier politely rebuffed his offer. “General you cannot possibly help me for I am mourning the destruction of myTemple.”
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