nishtdayngesheft – +1
I also want to point out according to Rav Orlofsky, Rav Moshe Shapiro stated after 9/11 that it was part of milchemes Gog u’Magog. That is certainly a new occurrence.
In general, our Gedolim have been telling us that we are in the time period before Mashiach. We are certainly closer to Mashiach than any other generation has ever been before. We have witnessed unusual Nissim in our times, Nissim the likes of which have probably not been seen in hundreds of years (to my knowledge). Whether or not there are more tragedies today than in times past, Yad Hashem has certainly been more visible than It has been in the past.
There are constant nissim in EY! I don’t think we are even aware of how many planned attacks fall through, and how many missiles have fallen over the years, miraculously hitting no one. The wars that have been won, and the fact that Am Yisrael is thriving in Eretz Yisrael despite being surrounded on all sides by those who wish to destroy us.
There have been outright miracles during the wars, miracles that have not been publicized or internalized as much as they should be. People complain that there are no miracles today, so how can they have Emunah? We are constantly surrounded by outright miracles – Antebbe, the 6-day War, etc. There were nissim g’luim during the wars that even the goyim were aware of!
If we have a hard time focusing on the tragedies, let us focus on the love Hashem shows us through His constant nissim and use that as a wake-up call to remind us that He is ready and waiting to bring Mashiach if we just take one small step forward. That is all it takes.