Seder Hadlakat Nerot Chanukah — The Order of Lighting the Hanukkah Candles

The Order of Lighting the Hanukkah Candles

The commandment of the Hanukkah candle is to light it at the doorway nearest the public domain, in order to publicize the miracle, etc.

If one has a window facing the public domain, one lights the candles there; if not, one lights them by the doorway.

It is a commandment to place them within a handbreadth of the doorway, on the left side,

so that the mezuzah is on the right and the candle on the left —

and one finds oneself surrounded by commandments.

A prayer by the holy sage Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov,

author of Bnei Yissaschar, may his merit protect us,

to be recited before lighting the Hanukkah candles:

For the sake of the unification of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Presence,

in awe and in love, in love and in awe,

to unite the Name Yud-Heh with Vav-Heh in perfect union,

in the name of all Israel.

I hereby intend, in lighting the Hanukkah candle,

to fulfill the commandment of my Creator, as our sages of blessed memory commanded me,

to repair its root in the supernal place.

And so may it be Your will, Adonai our God and God of our forefathers,

that the commandment of lighting the Hanukkah candle be considered, accepted, and pleasing before You,

as if I had directed all the intentions directed by the priests, servants of God,

at the time when they poured out their souls to death for the sake of Your great, mighty, and awesome Name.

And You, in Your abundant mercy, roused Your eternal power over them

to defeat their enemies and to oversee the work of the House of Adonai.

And I act with their intention and with their devotion,

and with the intention of all the righteous and the pious

who were in that generation,

to whom You granted Your miracles, and who were privileged to shine in the light of life,

and with the intention of all the righteous and the pious in our own generations.

As they spoke, so do I speak; as they acted, so do I act.

And by the merit of this commandment, grant us the power to defeat our enemies

and to oversee the work of the House of Adonai.

Reveal the glory of Your kingship over us swiftly,

and may the Torah not depart from our mouths, nor from the mouths of our children, nor our children's children,

from now and forever.

May we merit children who are scholars of Torah.

Amen, may this be Your will.

Sanctify us through Your commandments and grant us our portion in Your Torah,

satisfy us with Your goodness and gladden our souls with Your salvation,

and purify our hearts to serve You in truth.

Reign over all the world in Your glory,

be exalted over all the earth in Your splendor,

and reveal Yourself in the majesty of Your mighty grandeur over all the inhabitants of the world,

so that every created thing will know that You created it,

and every formed being will understand that You formed it,

and all in whose nostrils there is breath

— whose numerical value equals Hanukkah —

will declare: Adonai, God of Israel, is King,

and His kingship rules over all

— whose numerical value equals twenty-six times Chanah, the letters of Chanukah,

and equals the numerical value of Matityahu ben Yochanan the High Priest, the Hasmonean, and his sons —

Amen, forever, selah, and ever.

Before lighting the Hanukkah candles, one recites the blessings 'to kindle the light' and 'who performed miracles':

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, King of the universe,

who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah light.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, King of the universe,

who performed miracles for our forefathers in those days at this season.

On the first evening of Hanukkah, when lighting the Hanukkah candles,

one adds the blessing of 'Shehecheyanu':

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, King of the universe,

who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.

One then lights the Hanukkah candles, and recites:

These lights we kindle

for the miracles and the wonders and the deliverances and the battles

that You performed for our forefathers in those days at this season,

through Your holy priests.

All eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred;

we have no permission to make use of them,

but only to look upon them —

in order to give thanks and praise to Your great Name

for Your miracles, Your wonders, and Your salvation.

Mighty Rock of my salvation, to You it is fitting to give praise;

establish my house of prayer, and there we will offer thanks.

When You will prepare the slaughter of the blaspheming foe,

then I will complete with a song of praise the dedication of the altar.

My soul was sated with troubles; my strength was consumed in grief.

They embittered my life with hardship in the bondage of the kingdom of the calf.

But with His great hand He brought out the treasured people;

Pharaoh's army and all his offspring sank like a stone in the deep.

He brought me to His holy sanctuary, yet even there I found no peace;

the oppressor came and exiled me, for I served foreign powers.

I drank a cup of poisoned wine, and barely managed to survive.

The end of Babylon — through Zerubbabel — after seventy years I was saved.

The Agagite, son of Hammedatha, sought to cut down the tallest tree,

but it became a trap and a snare for him, and his arrogance was broken.

You raised up the head of the Benjaminite and destroyed the enemy's name;

his many sons and possessions You hanged upon the gallows.

The Greeks gathered against me in the days of the Hasmoneans;

they breached the walls of my towers and defiled all the oils.

From the last remaining jar a miracle was wrought for the roses.

Men of understanding established eight days of song and jubilation.

Bare Your holy arm and hasten the time of salvation;

take vengeance for the blood of Your servants from the wicked nation.

For the time has grown long for us, and there is no end to the days of evil.

Thrust the Edomite down into the shadow of the grave; establish for us the sevenfold shepherd.

A psalm, a song for the dedication of the House, by David:

I will exalt You, Adonai, for You drew me up and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.

Adonai my God, I cried out to You and You healed me.

Adonai, You brought my soul up from the grave;

You kept me alive from those who descend to the pit.

Sing to Adonai, O His faithful ones, and give thanks to the memory of His holiness.

For His anger is but a moment, His favor is for a lifetime;

weeping may lodge at evening, but by morning there is joy.

In my security I said: I shall never be shaken.

Adonai, in Your favor You had established my mountain as strength;

You hid Your face and I was terrified.

To You, Adonai, I called; to Adonai I pleaded.

What profit is there in my blood, in my going down to the pit?

Can the dust praise You? Can it declare Your faithfulness?

Hear, Adonai, and be gracious to me; Adonai, be my help.

You turned my mourning into dancing for me;

You loosened my sackcloth and girded me with joy,

so that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.

Adonai my God, I will give You thanks forever.

For the conductor, with string instruments, a psalm, a song:

May God be gracious to us and bless us, may He shine His face upon us, selah.

To make Your way known upon the earth, Your salvation among all the nations.

The peoples will praise You, O God; all the peoples will praise You.

Nations will rejoice and sing for joy,

for You judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth, selah.

The peoples will praise You, O God; all the peoples will praise You.

The earth has given its produce; may God, our God, bless us.

May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear Him.

Shout joyfully to Adonai, you righteous; for the upright, praise is fitting.

Give thanks to Adonai on the lyre; sing to Him on the ten-stringed harp.

Sing to Him a new song; play well with a shout of joy.

For the word of Adonai is upright, and all His deeds are done in faithfulness.

He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the lovingkindness of Adonai.

By the word of Adonai the heavens were made, by the breath of His mouth all their host.

He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; He places the depths in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear Adonai; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.

Adonai thwarts the counsel of nations; He frustrates the plans of peoples.

The counsel of Adonai endures forever; the plans of His heart to all generations.

Blessed is the nation whose God is Adonai, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

Adonai looked down from the heavens; He saw all the children of humankind.

From His dwelling place He gazed upon all who dwell on the earth.

He who fashions the hearts of them all, who understands all their deeds.

No king is saved by a great army; no warrior is rescued by great strength.

A horse is a false hope for deliverance; despite its great power it cannot save.

Behold, the eye of Adonai is upon those who fear Him, upon those who hope for His lovingkindness —

to rescue their soul from death and to sustain them in famine.

Our soul has waited for Adonai; He is our help and our shield.

For in Him our hearts will rejoice, for in His holy Name we have trusted.

May Your lovingkindness, Adonai, be upon us, as we have hoped in You.

After lighting the Hanukkah candles, one recites 'Ana Bekoach' seven times:

We implore You, by the great power of Your right hand, release the bound.

Accept the song of Your people; strengthen us, purify us, Awesome One.

Please, Mighty One, those who seek Your unity — guard them as the apple of the eye.

Bless them, purify them; Your merciful righteousness, bestow upon them always.

Powerful, Holy One, in Your abundant goodness, guide Your congregation.

Unique, Exalted One, turn to Your people, who remember Your holiness.

Accept our plea and hear our cry, O Knower of hidden things.

One then says quietly:

Blessed is the Name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.

Some have the custom of reciting 'May the Pleasantness' and Psalm 91 seven times:

May the pleasantness of Adonai our God be upon us;

establish the work of our hands for us,

establish the work of our hands.

One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High lodges in the shadow of the Almighty.

He says to Adonai: My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.

For He will rescue you from the fowler's trap, from the devastating pestilence.

With His pinion He will cover you, and beneath His wings you will find shelter;

His truth is a shield and a buckler.

You shall not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that moves in darkness, nor the destruction that lays waste at noon.

A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand — it will not come near you.

You will only look with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

For You, Adonai, are my refuge; you have made the Most High your dwelling.

No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.

For He will command His angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.

On their palms they will carry you, lest you strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread upon the lion and the viper; you will trample the young lion and the serpent.

Because he has loved Me, I will rescue him; I will exalt him, for he has known My Name.

He will call upon Me and I will answer him; I am with him in distress,

I will release him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him and I will show him My salvation.

With long life I will satisfy him and I will show him My salvation.

A song of ascents, by David:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together.

Like the goodly oil upon the head, flowing down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron,

that descends to the hem of his garments.

Like the dew of Hermon that descends upon the mountains of Zion,

for there Adonai commanded the blessing — life forever.