NISAN (from Babylonian *nisamu*). — First month of the year in Israel; in the oldest biblical literature, it is identified with *hôdheṣṭha*-*ābhībh* “month of ripening ears of grain” (v. 'ABIB': *Neh. 2, 1; Esth.* 3, 7 [Vulgate, also *Esth.* 3, 12; 11, 2]). On the first of Nisan the construction of the tabernacle was completed (Ex. 40, 17); from the 1st to the 12th, the altar was inaugurated through the offering of sacrifices by the heads of the twelve tribes (Num. 7). On the 14th of Nisan the Passover lamb was offered (Ex. 12, 3–13). The feast of Passover (v.) lasted from the 15th to the 22nd of Nisan.
On the 13th of Nisan, Num. 8, 1–4 is read in the synagogue. After this reading, a mystical prayer is recited, taken from the work of R. Isaiah Levi Horovitz, *Le due tavole della Legge*. In the month of Nisan there are no fasts and no mourning observances. The firstborn fast during the morning hours of the eve of Passover. The Sabbath preceding Passover is called the “Great Sabbath,” a name later applied to the Sabbath preceding New Year, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles.