The Order of Lighting:

The blessings over the lighting:

Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, King of the universe, Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Chanukah light. Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, King of the universe, Who performed miracles for our fathers in those days, at this time.

These lights we kindle for the miracles, for the wonders, for the salvations, and for the wars that You performed for our fathers in those days, at this time—through Your holy Kohanim. Throughout all eight days of Chanukah, these lights are holy, and we have no permission to make use of them—only to look at them—so that we may give thanks and praise to Your great Name for Your miracles, for Your wonders, and for Your salvation.

Maoz Tzur—Rock of my salvation, to You it is fitting to give praise. Establish my house of prayer, and there we will offer a thanksgiving sacrifice. When You prepare the slaughter for the barking foe, then I will complete with song and psalm the dedication of the altar. My soul was sated with troubles; my strength was consumed with grief. My life was embittered with hardship under the bondage of the calf-kingdom. Yet with His great hand He brought out His treasured nation; Pharaoh’s army and all his seed went down like a stone into the depths. He brought me to His holy sanctuary—and even there I found no rest. An oppressor came and exiled me, for I served strangers and poured a wine of poison; I nearly perished. The end of Babylon—Zerubbabel—at the end of seventy years I was saved. The Agagite, son of Hammedata, sought to cut down the lofty cypress; but it became for him a trap and a snare, and his pride was shattered. You raised the head of my right hand; You blotted out the name of the enemy. His many sons and possessions You hung upon the tree. Greeks gathered against me then, in the days of the Chashmona’im. They breached the walls of my towers and defiled all the oils. Yet from the remnant of the flasks a miracle was made for the lilies; the discerning established eight days of song and joyful praise. Reveal Your holy arm and bring near the end of salvation. Avenge the blood of Your servants from the wicked nation. For the hour has grown long for us, and there is no end to the days of evil. Push away the Red One in the shadow of deep darkness; raise up for us the Shepherd of seven.

A Psalm, a Song for the Dedication of the House, by David: I will exalt You, Hashem, for You have lifted me up and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. Hashem my G-d, I cried out to You and You healed me. Hashem, You brought my soul up from the grave; You revived me from descending into the pit. Sing to Hashem, His devoted ones, and give thanks to the remembrance of His holiness. For His anger is but for a moment; life is in His favor. In the evening, weeping may lodge, but in the morning there is joyous song. And I said in my tranquility: I shall never falter. Hashem, by Your favor You established strength for my mountain; You hid Your face—I was terrified. To You, Hashem, I call; and to my Lord I plead. What gain is there in my blood, in my going down to the pit? Will dust thank You? Will it declare Your truth? Hear, Hashem, and be gracious to me; Hashem, be my Helper. You turned my mourning into dancing; You opened my sackcloth and girded me with joy—so that my glory may sing to You and not be silent. Hashem my G-d, forever I will thank You.

For the conductor, with melodies—a psalm, a song: May G-d favor us and bless us; may He shine His face upon us, Selah. So that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. Let peoples thank You, O G-d; let all peoples thank You. Nations will rejoice and sing, for You will judge peoples with fairness and guide nations on earth, Selah. Let peoples thank You, O G-d; let all peoples thank You. The earth has yielded its produce; G-d, our G-d, will bless us. G-d will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear Him.

Please—by the power of the greatness of Your right hand, untie the bound. אב"ג ית"ץ: Accept the song of Your people; strengthen us, purify us, Awesome One. קר"ע שט"ן: Please, Mighty One—those who seek Your Oneness—guard them like the apple of the eye. נג"ד יכ"ש: Bless them, purify them; with the compassion of Your righteousness, always bestow upon them. בט"ר צת"ג: Powerful Holy One—through Your abundant goodness, lead Your congregation. חק"ב טנ"ע: Unique and Exalted One—turn to Your people, to those who remember Your holiness. יג"ל פז"ק: Accept our plea and hear our cry, Knower of hidden things. שק"ו צי"ת: In a whisper: Blessed is the Name of the glory of His Kingship forever and ever.

Sing joyfully, you righteous, in Hashem; for the upright, praise is fitting. Give thanks to Hashem with a harp; with a ten-stringed lyre sing to Him. Sing to Him a new song; play well with a joyous blast. For the word of Hashem is upright, and all His work is with faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is filled with the kindness of Hashem. By the word of Hashem the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their hosts. He gathers the waters of the sea like a heap; He places the depths in storehouses. Let all the earth fear Hashem; let all inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke and it came to be; He commanded and it stood. Hashem frustrates the counsel of nations; He nullifies the thoughts of peoples. The counsel of Hashem stands forever; the thoughts of His heart from generation to generation. Fortunate is the nation whose G-d is Hashem—the people He chose as His inheritance. From heaven Hashem looked; He saw all the children of man. From the place of His dwelling He watches over all who dwell on earth. He forms their hearts together; He understands all their deeds. A king is not saved by a great army; a mighty man is not rescued by great strength. The horse is a false hope for salvation; with all its power it cannot deliver. Behold, the eye of Hashem is upon those who fear Him, upon those who hope for His kindness—to save their soul from death and to sustain them in famine. Our soul waits for Hashem; He is our help and our shield. For in Him our heart will rejoice, for in His holy Name we trusted. May Your kindness, Hashem, be upon us, as we hoped for You.

To merit, through the merit of the eighth candle—which includes within it all the lights of the seven days—to subdue all eight Kings of Edom, who correspond to the eight creeping creatures, and for the verse to be fulfilled: “And the House of Yaakov will be fire, and the House of Yosef a flame.”

Master of the world, Almighty—Whom no plan can be withheld from—through the merit of the eighth candle, which includes all the lights of the seven days of Creation, which encompass all four Divine chariots that go out “from between two mountains—and the mountains are mountains of copper” {Zechariah 6:1}: in the first chariot, red horses; in the second chariot, black horses; in the third chariot, white horses; and in the fourth chariot, dappled, strong horses. “And I answered and said to the angel who spoke with me: What are these, my master? And the angel answered and said to me: These are the four winds of heaven, going out from standing before the Master of all the earth—where the black horses go out to the land of the north, and the white go out after them, and the dappled go out to the land of the south.” With these, we subdue the eight Kings of Edom, who correspond to the impurity of the eight creeping creatures. Then, “Those of the Negev will inherit Mount Esav, and the lowland the Philistines; they will inherit the field of Ephraim and the field of Shomron, and Binyamin will inherit the Gilad”—the secret of Gal-Ed—when the will that Hashem, may He be blessed, had before the creation of the world is revealed, in the aspect of “the end of the deed is first in thought.” For through the eight Chanukah lights we subdue the eight Kings of Edom: “Bela son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dinhavah; Yovav son of Zerach from Botzrah; Chusham from the land of the Teimani; Hadad son of Bedad, who struck Midyan in the field of Moav; Samlah from Masrekah; Shaul from Rechovot HaNahar; Chanan son of Achbor; Hadar—and the name of his city was Pa’u, and the name of his wife was Meheitavel daughter of Matred, daughter of Mei Zahav.” And then, through the eighth candle of Chanukah—which includes all eight candles—the verse will be fulfilled in me {Ovadiah, chapter 1, verse 18}: “And the House of Yaakov will be fire, and the House of Yosef a flame, and the House of Esav straw; and they will ignite them and consume them, and there will be no survivor of the House of Esav—for Hashem has spoken.”

To merit now, through the eighth candle of Chanukah, forgiveness of sins; and that the light of the seven days will always shine for us; and that we will raise the Shechinah from the dust; and bring the entire world back to Hashem, may He be blessed—for everyone longs to be included in the light of the seven days.

Master of the world, Almighty—now, at the time of the eighth candle, which is the greatest day of the year, in the secret of forgiveness of sins—please: “Forgive, please, the sin of this people according to the greatness of Your kindness, and as You have borne this people from Egypt until now.” The initial letters spell “Chanukah,” for Chanukah has the gematria of 89 times 178 Gan Eden ﬩ 1; for the days of Chanukah are days of Gan Eden, which restore the light of the seven days to its original state. And from now on, may the light of the seven days shine upon us all year, and may we walk in its light at every hour, moment, and second. Through this, may we raise the Shechinah from the dust, and merit to be included in Adam Kadmon of Adam Kadmon, and merit to be “the first of His produce,” “holy to Hashem.” And may we merit, through the lights of Chanukah—and especially the eighth candle—to bring the entire world back to Hashem, may He be blessed. For almost all the nations light Chanukah candles together with the Jews, because everyone wants to be included in the light of the seven days, which is drawn down from the seven Tzaddikim, from the seven shepherds.