"On account of you, Rachel, I will return Israel to their place." According to a midrash on the Book of Lamentations, this was God's response to the plea of Rachel the matriarch that He restore the exiled people to its home.1 This source describes how various figures, including the patriarchs, Moses, and Jeremiah, came before the Almighty following the destruction of the Temple to plead on the people's behalf. Then Rachel came and presented her arguments. This source served as the initial inspiration for my composition of Tehinnat hanashim levinyan hamikdash. Tehinnat hanashim,2 excerpts of which are presented below, is a literary work written in the style of the aggadic midrashim. It depicts biblical and post-biblical female figures who beseech God, on the basis of their merits, to rebuild the Temple. The work portrays the connection between women and the Temple throughout the generations. Its thematic components are based on the talmudic, midrashic, and aggadic literature, as well as the Zohar. Soon after its publication, I sent a copy of Tehinnat hanashim to the late Chief Rabbi of Tel-Aviv, Rabbi Hayyim David Halevy, along with a letter asking whether it would be permissible to recite this Tehinnah on the eve of Tisha be'Av, the traditional day of mourning for the destruction of the Temple. He responded affirmatively, except to say that the concluding passage, which contains words of consolation, may be read only after noontime on the day of Tisha be'Av. Since its publication in 1996, Tehinnat hanashim has been recited