The Order of Lighting:

Blessings over the lighting:

Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe, Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Chanukah light: Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, 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—and for all the mitzvah of the eight days of Chanukah. These lights are holy, and we have no permission to make use of them, only to look at them alone, in order to thank and praise Your great Name for Your miracles, for Your wonders, and for Your salvation:

Ma’oz Tzur—Rock of my salvation, to You it is fitting to give praise. Establish the House of my prayer, and there we will offer a thanksgiving sacrifice. When You prepare the slaughter of 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 people; Pharaoh’s army and all his seed went down like a stone into the depths. He brought me into His holy sanctuary, yet even there I found no rest. An oppressor came and exiled me, for I served strangers and poured a poisonous wine—until I nearly passed away. The end of Babylon—Zerubbabel—at the end of seventy years I was saved. To cut down the lofty cypress he sought—Agagite son of Hammedata. But it became for him a trap and a snare, and his arrogance was shattered. You lifted up the head of my right hand, and You erased 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. But from the remaining jars a miracle was made for the lilies. Men of understanding 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. Repel the “Red One” in the shadow of deep darkness; raise up for us a shepherd of seven.

A Psalm, a Song for the Dedication of the House, of David: I will exalt You, Hashem, for You have lifted me up and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. Hashem my God, I cried out to You and You healed me. Hashem, You brought my soul up from Sheol; You gave me life, that I should not descend to the pit. Sing to Hashem, His devout 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 descent to the grave? Will dust thank You? Will it tell of Your truth? Hear, Hashem, and be gracious to me; Hashem, be my Helper. You turned my mourning into dancing for me; You opened my sackcloth and girded me with joy—so that my glory may sing to You and not be silent. Hashem my God, forever I will thank You.

For the conductor, with stringed instruments, a psalm, a song: God, be gracious to us and bless us; shine His face with us, Selah. That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. Peoples will thank You, God; peoples will thank You, all of them. Nations will rejoice and sing, for You will judge peoples with fairness, and guide nations on earth, Selah. Peoples will thank You, God; peoples will thank You, all of them. The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God, will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear Him.

Please, with the power of the greatness of Your right hand, release 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, guard those who seek Your Oneness 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: Strong and Holy One, in Your abundant goodness, lead Your congregation. חק"ב טנ"ע: Unique and Exalted One, turn to Your people—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 Kingdom 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 deeds are with Emunah. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is filled with Hashem’s kindness. 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 mound; He places the depths in storehouses. Let all the earth fear Hashem; 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. Hashem frustrates the counsel of nations; He nullifies the thoughts of peoples. The counsel of Hashem stands forever, the thoughts of His heart for every generation. Fortunate is the nation for whom Hashem is their God, the people He chose as His inheritance. From heaven Hashem looked down; He saw all the children of man. From His dwelling place He watches over all the inhabitants of the earth. He forms all 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 false hope for salvation, and 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 drawing the soul of King David into the world—who was incarnated within Yael, who gave herself over with mesirus nefesh, and merited a level even higher than the holy Matriarchs, and to be included within their mesirus nefesh—“The seventh candle corresponds to the soul of King David, peace be upon him.”

Master of the world, Almighty—grant me, through the seventh Chanukah candle, the merit to draw the soul of King David into the world, which was incarnated within Yael. Through this, “she crushed and pierced his temple” of Sisera, as it is said: “More blessed than women in the tent shall she be” (the verse’s calculation: 622 = 1100). This equals the gematria of David (14), Sarah (505), Rivkah (307), Rachel (238), Leah (36) = 1100. For Yael merited that the soul of David (= 14), the King—peace be upon him—would be incarnated within her, and also the souls of the four Matriarchs: Sarah (505), Rivkah (307), Rachel (238), and Leah (36) = 1100. Therefore she merited to be above the holy and pure Matriarchs, because she literally gave over her life for Kiddush Hashem, and she surrendered her entire life in truth—for if Sisera had awakened even for a thousandth of a second, he would have immediately strangled her, and her tikkun, God forbid, would have been finished in the sense that she would not remain alive. And in this way she merited long life like Yitzchak, who also gave over his life at the Akeidah, agreeing to be bound and slaughtered for Kiddush Hashem.