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You are here:   🖖︎ Prayers & Praxes   —⟶   🌔︎ Prayers for the Moon, Month, and Festival Calendar   —⟶   Commemorative Festivals & Fasts   —⟶   Ḥanukkah   —⟶   בָּאנוּ חֹשֶׁךְ לְגָרֵשׁ | Banu Ḥoshekh l’Garesh (We come to chase the dark away), by Sara Levi-Tanai (1960)

בָּאנוּ חֹשֶׁךְ לְגָרֵשׁ | Banu Ḥoshekh l’Garesh (We come to chase the dark away), by Sara Levi-Tanai (1960)

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Source (Hebrew)Translation (English)
בָּאנוּ חֹשֶׁךְ לְגָרֵשׁ.‏
בְּיָדֵינוּ אוֹר וַאֵשׁ.‏
כׇּל אֶחָד הוּא אוֹר קָטָן,‏
וְכֻלָּנוּ – אוֹר אֵיתָן.‏
סוּרָה חֹשֶׁךְ! הָלְאָה שְׁחוֹר!‏
סוּרָה מִפְּנֵי הָאוֹר!‏
We come to chase the dark away.
In our hands are light and fire.
Each individual light is small,
But together – the light is mighty.
Flee, darkness and night!
Flee, before the light!

In 1960, the Publishing House of the Composers’ League in cooperation with the Center for Culture and Education (בית הוצאה של איגוד הקומפוזיטורים בשיתוף עם המרכז לתרבות ולחינוך), published the songbook זמר־חן (Zemer Ḥén), containing the now popular Ḥanukkah song and melody “Banu Ḥoshekh l’Garesh” (p. 49), originally simply titled “Ḥanukkah” by Sara Levi-Tanaiׁ (1910-2005). Because it was initially published as a government publication of the Center for Culture and Education, an Israeli state agency, the work is in the Public Domain in the United States. (Additionally, more than fifty years have passed since its initial publication — the term of copyright for the State of Israel under the 1994 Uruguay Round Agreement Act.)

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1 comment to בָּאנוּ חֹשֶׁךְ לְגָרֵשׁ | Banu Ḥoshekh l’Garesh (We come to chase the dark away), by Sara Levi-Tanai (1960)

  • There are at least two lesser known stanzas of unknown authorship that are sometimes included with the original stanza:

    צִיל-צִיל-צִיל בַּפַּעֲמוֹנִים,
    מִי אֲנַחְנוּ? – סְבִיבוֹנִים.
    לָנוּ רֶגֶל אַחַת,
    אִם נִפֹּל – גַּם לֹא נִפְחַד.
    סוּרָה חֹשֶׁךְ, הָלְאָה שְׁחוֹר!‏
    סוּרָה מִפְּנֵי הָאוֹר!‏
    Tsil-tsil-tsil in the bells,
    who are we? – spinning dreidels.
    We have one leg,
    if we fall – we still won’t fear.
    Flee, darkness and night!
    Flee, before the light!
    אָנוּ שׁוֹבָבִים גְּדוֹלִים,
    עַלִּיזִים וְהוֹלְלִים –
    אַךְ נֵדַע יָפֶה מְאוֹד
    לְסַפֵּר, לָשִׁיר, לִרְקֹד.
    סוּרָה חֹשֶׁךְ, הָלְאָה שְׁחוֹר!‏
    סוּרָה מִפְּנֵי הָאוֹר!‏
    We’re big mischievous kids,
    merry and praise-giving –
    but we’ll know very nicely
    to retell, to sing, to dance.
    Flee, darkness and night!
    Flee, before the light!

    If you know anything more about their origin and authorship, please leave a comment, or contact us.

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