Rosh Chodesh Nissan

Rav Yehuda said: One who goes out during the Nissan season and sees trees that are blossoming, recites: Blessed are you oh Divine, Our God Spirit of the Universe, who has withheld nothing from Their world, and has created in it beautiful creatures and trees for human beings to enjoy.

...The meaning is, we give thanks and gratitude to the Creator for those things which humans enjoy and yet were not necessarily obligatory in the cycle of Creation, like the fruit of trees. Therefore, this is only said on fruit trees, and not on seeds and vegetables, which are in fact necessary.

The blessing is recited when the fruits are flowering.

In our lands, however, fruits do not flower in Nissan (ie March/April), but rather in Iyar or the beginning of Sivan (ie May/June), and we wait until that time.

And we only make this blessing once a year.

(1) The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: (2) This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you.

(1) החדש הזה — He showed him the moon in the first stage of its renewal, and He said to him, “The time when the moon renews itself thus, shall be unto you the beginning of the month”. (The translation therefore is: “This stage of renewal (חדש) shall be the moment of beginning the months”;

Even if we were all sages, all wise, all elders, all knowledgeable about the Torah, it would be a commandment upon us to tell the story of the exodus from Egypt. And anyone who tells the story of the Exodus at length: behold, this is praiseworthy!

One Passover, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon were reclining in Bnei Brak telling stories of the exodus from Egypt all night long — until their students came and said to them, "It's time to recite the morning shema!"

In each and every generation, a person is obligated to see themself as if they personally left Egypt.

And in every generation, a person is obligated to present himself as if he left Egypt. That not only only did God redeem our ancestors, but God redeemed us as well, as it is said, "and us He freed from there, that He might take us and give us the land that He had promised on oath to our fathers."

In each and every generation, a person is obligated to see himself as if he left Egypt, as it is stated (Exodus 13:8); "And you shall explain to your son on that day: For the sake of this, did the Lord do [this] for me in my going out of Egypt." Not only our ancestors did the Holy One, blessed be He, redeem, but rather also us [together] with them did He redeem, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:23); "And He took us out from there, in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He swore unto our fathers."

R. Jose the son of R. Judah says: Three good leaders had arisen for Israel, namely. Moses, Aaron and Miriam, and for their sake three good things were conferred [upon Israel], namely, the Well, the Pillar of Cloud and the Manna; the Well, for the merit of Miriam; the Pillar of Cloud for the merit of Aaron; the Manna for the merit of Moses. When Miriam died the well disappeared, as it is said, And Miriam died there, and immediately follows [the verse], And there was no water for the congregation....

translation by Soncino

(6) Ten things were created on the eve of the [first] Sabbath at twilight, And these are they: [1] The mouth of the earth [that swallowed Korach in Numbers 16:32], [2] The mouth of the well [that accompanied the Israelites in the Wilderness in Numbers 21:17], [3] The mouth of the donkey [that spoke to Balaam in Numbers 22:28–30], [4] The rainbow [that served as a covenant after the Flood in Genesis 9:13], [5] The manna [that God provided the Israelites in the Wilderness in Exodus 16:4–21], [6] The rod [of Moses], [7] The Shamir [worm that helped build the Temple without metal tools], [8] The letters, [9] The writing, and [10] The tablets [of the Ten Commandments]. And some say: Also the destructive spirits, And the burial place of Moses, our teacher, And the ram of Abraham, our father. And some say: Also the [first human-made] tongs, made with [Divine] tongs.

Even if we were all sages, all wise, all elders, all knowledgeable about the Torah, it would be a commandment upon us to tell the story of the exodus from Egypt. And anyone who tells the story of the Exodus at length: behold, this is praiseworthy!

In each and every generation, a person is obligated to see themself as if they personally left Egypt.

We were slaves to Pharaoh in the land of Egypt. And the Lord, our God, took us out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched forearm. And if the Holy One, blessed be He, had not taken our ancestors from Egypt, behold we and our children and our children's children would [all] be enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt. And even if we were all sages, all discerning, all elders, all knowledgeable about the Torah, it would be a commandment upon us to tell the story of the exodus from Egypt. And anyone who adds [and spends extra time] in telling the story of the exodus from Egypt, behold he is praiseworthy.