By Rabbi Alberto Sermoneta
The month of Nissan is considered by the Torah to be the most important of the year.
Indeed, the month of Nissan is considered the beginning of a new season; that season which brings with it many expectations and many desires for every human being: the spring season or, as called by the Torah - חודש אביב.
"ושמרתם את חודש האביב ועשית פסח לה' אלקיך, כי בחודש אביב יצאת מארץ מצרים
And you shall observe the month of spring and offer Pesach to the Lord
your G-d"
During the month of Nissan, tachanunim are not recited — the penitential prayers in the Shachrith and minchah tefillot — and it is customary not to fast (other than the fast of the firstborn), while some refrain from visiting the cemetery to visit their departed loved ones.
As early as the first day of the month, preparations begin for Pesach and the sedarim, and people also refrain from eating matzah until the time of the berakhah during the seder, in order to be able to eat it with greater appetite and desire during the days of Pesach.
The month of Nissan is called by our Masters חודש הגאולה — the month of redemption, because in Nissan the Jews were redeemed from Egypt, and so in Nissan they will be redeemed from all misfortunes, forever.
Just as a human being always hopes for a better future period, so the Jewish people, over the course of their millennia-old history, hope for a better future under the sign of freedom, serenity and peace.