The Mishna in Avot speaks of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai’s five students and his praise for them. These would have been the first generation of rabbis after the destruction of the Second Temple. Yet when we delve further, we find that of the five, only two continued to participate in the transmission of Torah, and one of those was ostracised and excommunicated.
Part of the destruction is that not everyone survives the aftermath.
