They say we should all stop and smell the roses... we live our lives in the fast lane, and rarely take the moment to pause and look around us.

A blooming lemon tree like the one we said the bracha by

The bracha we say in the month of Nissan, the bracha on the blooming of the fruit trees, gives us that opportunity to stop for a moment, and smell the roses so to speak, to reflect on the beauty around us.

We said the bracha yesterday, the first day of Nissan, the first day possible to say the bracha. If you have not said it yet, you should try to do it sooner rather than later. Because this year was a leap year, we are already well into the blooming season of the trees, and the flowers will soon fall off. You can only say the bracha while the tree is in the flowering stage.

Stop now and smell the roses.