Source (Hebrew) | Transliteration (English) | Translation (English) |
---|---|---|
Alternative lyrics (full rewrite), ver. 1.0, by Rabbi David Seidenberg (neohasid.org) after Banu Ḥoshekh L’Garesh by Sara Levi-Tanai (1960)
|
||
בָּאנוּ חׇשֵׁךְ לְקַדֵּשׁ קוֹדֶם שֶׁמֶשׁ תִּתְחַדֵּשׁ בְּיָדֵינוּ אוֹר וְנֵר לֵיל כַּשַּׂלְמָה לְפָאֵר |
Banu choshech l’kadesh
Kodem shemesh titchadesh B’yadeinu or v’ner Leil kasalmah l’fa’er |
We come to sanctify the dark
Afore the sun renews its light In our hands, may light and flame Bejewel, as tapestry, the night |
נִשְׁתֳּלֶנּוּ גַּרְעִין אֵשׁ בַּד הַחוֹשֶׁךְ מְלַפֵּף גַּרְעִינִים שֶׁל אֵשׁ וָאוֹר בּוֹהֲקִים מִתּוֹךְ הַשְׁחוֹר |
Nish’talenu gar’in esh
Bad hachoshekh m’lapef Gar’inim shel esh va-or Bohakim mitokh hash’chor |
We will plant our fire’s seed
In weave of darkness nestling Seeds of fire and of light Radiant within the night |
Alternative lyrics (lightly amended), ver. 1.0, by Rabbi Jill Hammer & David Seidenberg (neohasid.org) after Banu Ḥoshekh L’Garesh by Sara Levi-Tanai (1960)
|
||
בָּאנוּ חוֹשֶׁךְ לְקַדֵּשׁ בְּיָדֵינוּ אוֹר וָאֵשׁ כָּל אֶחָד הוּא אוֹר קָטָן וְכֻלָנוּ אוֹר אֵיתָן |
Banu choshekh l’kadesh
B’yadeinu or va’esh Kol echad hu or katan V’khulanu or eitan |
We’ve come to sanctify the dark,
in our hands a little spark Each of us a tiny light, and together we’re so bright. |
קוּמָה חוֹשֶׁךְ עֲלֵה שְחוֹר קוּמָה לִקְרַאת הָאוֹר |
Kumah choshekh
Aleh sh’chor Kumah, likrat ha-or! |
Come up darkness,
rise up night, Come up, to greet the light! (2x) |
These are alternative lyrics to the popular Ḥanukkah song, Banu Ḥoshekh L’Garesh (We come to chase the dark away) by Sara Levi-Tanai (1960).
Recordings
Source

“בָּאנוּ חׇשֵׁךְ לְקַדֵּשׁ | Banu Ḥoshekh l’Ḳadesh (We come to sanctify the dark), by rabbis David Seidenberg and Jill Hammer” is shared by the contributors with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
PDF (or Print) |
Comments, Corrections, and Queries