Today is Rosh Chodesh Nissan. Rosh Chodesh Nissan is always observed for one day, and the month itself is always full, consisting of 30 days.
Nissan is called in the Torah “the beginning of months” and the “first month.” The first of Nissan is also considered the New Year for kings, as the count of a ruler’s regnal years begins from it. Nissan is the first month in the counting accepted by the Torah; counting from Tishrei, it is the seventh month.
In the Torah, Nissan is also called “Chodesh HaAviv,” the month of spring. The word “Nissan” itself is of Babylonian origin but is also connected to spring, sharing the same root as “nitzan” (bud), which appears in the “Song of Songs” (“The buds (nitzanim) have appeared on the earth” (Shir HaShirim 2:12).
The zodiac sign of Nissan is the ram. According to some authorities, this indicates that the Almighty created this month for the Exodus to occur, which initiated the formation of the Jewish people, long before the Paschal sacrifice. Since sheep were a symbol of wealth for the Egyptians and consequently served as an object of worship, the Paschal sacrifice is a sign of service to the Almighty. This is how the Sages explain the words of the Torah: “Draw out and take for yourselves sheep for your families and slaughter the Pesach offering” (Shemot 12:21) – detach yourselves from idolatry, take sheep for yourselves, slaughter the Egyptian idols, and bring the Paschal sacrifice (Shemot Rabbah 16).
The entire month of Nissan is considered a special, auspicious time, and certain traditions are associated with it, allowing it to be considered semi-festive. In Nissan, we mark the birthday of the Leader of our generation, the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson – 11 Nissan (March 29 this year) and the birthday of his father, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, who was the Chief Rabbi of Yekaterinoslav-Dnipropetrovsk from 1909 to 1939 – 18 Nissan (April 5 this year).
But the main event of Nissan is, of course, the holiday of Pesach, the holiday of the Exodus from Egypt, from external and internal slavery, the holiday of Freedom. The holiday of Pesach begins in the middle of the month, at the full moon, on the evening of “the fourteenth day of the spring month of Nissan.” Pesach lasts for 8 days (this year from the evening of April 1 to April 9). The first two and last two days have the status of “Yom Tov,” and throughout the holiday, special laws apply, primarily related to the prohibition of chametz.
Dates from the recent history of the Jewish people are also connected with the month of Nissan – 27 Nissan is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust and Heroism Day, commemorating the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Until the end of the month of Nissan, one should recite a special blessing over flowering trees, expressing gratitude to the Almighty for the renewal of nature.
The Rambam wrote: “Whoever goes out during Nissan to a field or garden and sees flowering trees with swelling buds should recite the following blessing: ‘Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, for nothing is lacking in His world, and He created in it good creatures and good trees to give pleasure to mankind.'”
Some sources state that the blessing should be recited only over fruit trees, specifically when there are two or more, and they are older than three years (i.e., not orlah). Others write that it is preferable to recite it upon seeing a blossoming fruit tree, or at least a tree whose flowers have a pleasant fragrance. However, one may bless the Almighty upon experiencing pleasure at the sight of any tree with newly sprouted leaves.
It is customary to recite this blessing specifically during the month of Nissan. The Sages say that praiseworthy is one who, at the very beginning of Nissan, strives to see a tree blossoming anew in order to praise the Almighty for the renewal of nature.
