Two days before the conclusion of the thirty-day mourning period following the passing of Moses on Adar 7 (see Jewish History for the 7th of Nissan), Joshua dispatched two scouts--Caleb and Pinchas--across the Jordan River to Jericho, to gather intelligence in preparation of the Israelites' battle with the first city in their conquest of the Holy Land. In Jericho, they were assisted and hidden by Rahab, a woman who lived inside the city walls. (Rahab later married Joshua).
Link:
The Two Spies
R. Avraham Yehoshua Heshel was one of the leading Rebbes of his day, serving as rabbi and spiritual leader first in Apta (presently called Opatow), then in Iasi, and finally in Mezhibuzh. He was known for his great love of his fellow Jews, and is commonly known as “the Ohev Yisroel [lover of Jews] of Apta.”
Link: Special Powers
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 Shimon, Shlumiel ben Tzurishadai, for the inauguration of the Mishkan.
In the Hebrew month of Elul, the month before Rosh Hashanah, a voice inside whispers that it’s time to return home.
Some return, even from the most distant places. Some want to return, but cannot overcome their ways.
So the voice inside whispers, “I know you want to return. I appreciate that.”
Some more return. Some try, but are just too tied down.
So the voice inside whispers again, “Even if you don’t return now, I want you to know that you are deeply loved.”
Upon feeling such love, an unbounded love that comes from the very essence of being, who could not return?
In the month before Rosh Hashanah, listen for that voice. Listen deeply.