Ḥanukkah, a hymn by Isaac Mayer Wise (1868)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Isaac Mayer Wise

Shared on:

29 November 2021 under the Public Domain (17 U.S. Code §105 - Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works)

Categories:

Ḥanukkah

Tags:

19th century C.E., 57th century A.M., hymns

Ḥanukkah, the feast of lights, is in commemoration of the victories of the Maccabees over Antiochus Epiphanes and the Syrians and the re-dedication of the temple of Jerusalem.

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	In the Lord is our strength and our power, He’s our Rock and our Refuge eternal, His unutterable grace is our tower, As His love is affection paternal; Only source of all truth irrefutable, He’s our God and Redeemer immutable,
	When the Syrian foe desecrated The abode of His glorious presence, And the people, His love consecrated, Was enslaved by a king without conscience, The Almighty pour’d forth inspiration On Mattathia’s sons and his nation.
	Feeble hearts were transported with valor To reconquer the altar and Ariel; Divine power unfurled Judah’s banner, Consecrated the arms of Israel; The Almighty revealed His salvation On Mattathia’s sons and his nation.
	The perpetual fire on the altar Was rekindled by victors enraptured; To our God they resounded the psalter, And the trumpet of Freedom recaptured; Over Pagan oppression and blindness Again triumphed our God’s loving-kindness.
	Let us sing a new song of thanksgiving, At the lights of the feast, Halleluyah ! To the Lord of all lands of the living And the dead, let us shout Halleluyah ! Halleluyah, the Lord of creation, Halleluyah, the God of Salvation, Halleluyah!

“Hannukah” appears as hymn number XXXVIII in מנהג אמעריקא: תפלות בני ישורון Minhag America: Hymns, Psalms & Prayers in English and German by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, et al (1868), p. 104 and 106.

Source(s)

“Ḥanukkah, a hymn by Isaac Mayer Wise (1868)” is shared by the living contributor(s) with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin, Ministarot Nakeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides administering the Open Siddur Project and this website.)

Isaac Mayer Wise

Isaac Mayer Wise (29 March 1819, Steingrub (now Lomnička, Czech Republic), Austrian Empire – 26 March 1900, Cincinnati), was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author. At his death he was called "the foremost rabbi in America."

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established."–Psalms 90:17