ואתחנן אל ה' בעת ההיא לאמר ... (ג-כג)
Moshe Rabbeinu stormed the heavens for permission to enter ארץ ישראל. He davened 515 תפילות. ((כמנין ואתחנן Alas, Hashem denied his pleadings. One would think, therefore, that Moshe had no connection to the land, but as I once heard, in the name of R’ Refoel Schorr shlita, the exact opposite is true. Moshe, through his davening, became even more connected. When one very much desires an item and constantly prays for it, he creates a kesher with the object of those prayers. Perhaps we can speculate that א"י, which is notably connected to tefillah, became so linked through Moshe’s intense supplications.
This machshava can help us to better understand a churban-related Medrash. A famous philosopher once met Yirmiyahu Hanavi and found him weeping over the destruction of the Bais HaMikdash. He asked him two questions. One, you’re a prophet - a wise sage. Why are you crying over the loss of a building constructed of wood and stone? Second, what will your crying accomplish? It won’t bring back the temple. Yirmiyahu responded as follows: You, as a philosopher, must be troubled by many unanswered philosophical questions. Go ahead, ask me any them. In short order, Yirmiyahu successfully resolved all his problems. The gentile was awestruck. The Navi then continued. You should know that all my wisdom was derived from that structure. Hence, it was not merely a physical edifice. That is why I’m weeping. With regard to your second question, you, as a non-Jew, cannot begin to comprehend the answer, just as we, as the children of G-d, cannot begin to comprehend the question. Even though the rebuilding of the Bais HaMikdash may not be in our control, the mere fact that we long for it, and cry for it, creates an awesome physical bond to it, and aids us in cultivating a very real relationship with Hashem.
When Hashem sees our desire, he will hopefully return it to us. If, tragically, this does not happen, then on this Shabbos Nachamu, let us internalize this concept and continue to yearn for the speedy rebuilding of the בית השלישי במהרה בימינו אמן