The Jewish nation mourned for thirty days following the passing of Moses. (During this time, Joshua, the new leader of the Jewish nation, sent scouts to spy on the land of Canaan, see Jewish History for the 5th of Nissan).
On the 7th of Nissan, the first day after the mourning period came to an end, Joshua instructed the Jews to stock up on provisions and prepare themselves to cross the Jordan river and begin the conquest of the Promised Land. This was the first time Joshua addressed the nation, and they unconditionally accepted him as their new leader.
The actual crossing occurred on the 10th of Nissan.
In 1890, Dr. Moshe Wallach emigrated from his native Germany to the Land of Israel. Ten years later, he founded the Shaarei Zedek Hospital, one of Jerusalem’s most prominent hospitals. Dr. Wallach was a strictly observant Jew, and the hospital protocol follows Shabbat and kashrut observance, and provides religious services for both weekdays and holidays.
In 1929, during a journey by boat from Alexandria to Trieste, Dr. Wallach cured Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn when he fell ill with a kidney ailment.
Link: Cause and Effect
In today's "Nasi" reading (see "Nasi of the Day" in Nissan 1), we read of the gift bought by the nasi of the tribe of Ephraim, Elishama ben Amihud, for the inauguration of the Mishkan.
We are one because we share a single soul, like a single, brilliant sun shining into many bodies. Since the soul is what counts, that makes us essentially one.
That is the meaning of the mitzvah of the Sukkah—a place that encompasses us all equally, rendering us a single whole.
We are also one because none of us are alike. Each of us reflects a different facet of that same soul, each of us with our strengths and our weaknesses, so that we all need one another to be whole and complete.
That is the meaning of the mitzvah of the Lulav, the Etrog, the Hadassim and the Aravot—four very diverse species, each containing that which the others lack.
And that is why this mitzvah is best done inside the Sukkah: To draw the oneness of our shared soul into the harmony of our diverse bodies.
