R. Avi Strausberg on the 10th of Tevet: The Imperative of Hope

Asarah b’Tevet (the 10th of the month of Tevet), marks the beginning of the end of the First Temple.  It marks the beginning of a 30-month period in which the Jews in Jerusalem found themselves pressed on all sides, overcome by the army of the Babylonian empire, with little hope in sight. What was it like for them to be at the beginning of this period of great uncertainty? Did they hold on to hope and, if so, what was the nature of that hope? Or, from the beginning, could they only think about the end, fearing their own destruction at the hands of the Babylonians?