This is an archive of prayers, prayer-poems, and songs for the festival of חֲנֻכָּה (Ḥanukkah), commemorating the crucial victory of the Jewish people in retaining its culture, lifeways, and Temple vis-à-vis the oppressive hegemony of the Seleucid Greek kingdom around 164 BCE. Click here to contribute a prayer you have written, or a transcription and/or translation of a historic Ḥanukkah prayer or song in any language, familiar or obscure. Filter resources by Collaborator Name Filter resources by Tag Filter resources by Category Filter resources by Language Filter resources by Date Range
Psalms 67 is a priestly blessing for all the peoples of the earth to be sustained by the earth’s harvest (yevulah), and it is a petition that all humanity recognize the divine nature (Elohim) illuminating the world. Composed of seven verses, the psalm is often visually depicted as a seven branched menorah. There are 49 words in the entire psalm, and in the Nusaḥ ha-ARI z”l there is one word for each day of the Sefirat haOmer. Similarly, the fifth verse has 49 letters and each letter can be used as a focal point for meditating on the meaning of the day in its week in the journey to Shavuot, the festival of weeks (the culmination of the barley harvest), and the festival of oaths (shevuot) in celebration of receiving the Torah. Many of the themes of Psalms 67 are repeated in the prayer Ana b’Koaḥ, which also has 49 words, and which are also used to focus on the meaning of each day on the cyclical and labyrinthine journey towards Shavuot. . . . Tags: 42 letter divine name, a red ribbon, acrostic, אנא בכח Ana b'Khoaḥ, anxiety, barley, captives, cyclical, Divine name acrostic, first fruits, labyrinth, Psalms 67, Raḥav, shalmah, walled cities, wheat This is an English translation of Psalms 30 by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l, first published in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). The translation was set side-by-side with the original Hebrew by Aharon Varady. . . . Tags: devotional interpretation, English Translation, interpretive translation, Jewish Renewal, Liturgical customs of Kabbalists, מוצאי שבת Motsei Shabbat, North America, Openers, תהלים Psalms, Psalms 30, Uva Letsiyon Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman introduced the tradition of reading these verses from Isaiah during the month of Kislev through the end of Ḥanukkah in his Siddur Ha’Avodah Shebalev of Kehillat Kol HaNeshamah (R’ Levi Weiman-Kelman, R’ Ma’ayan Turner, and Shaul Vardi, 2007). The translation provided here was adapted from the one made by Shaul Vardi in Siddur Ha’Avodah Shebalev. –Aharon Varady. . . . The blessings for kindling the Ḥanukkah lights in Hebrew with English translation. . . . The poetic genre known as ḳerovot, brief poems woven throughout the repetition of the weekday Amidah, is nowadays most closely associated with Elazar biRabbi Qallir’s Purim “Qrovetz“, a majestically interwoven piece of piyyut if ever there was one. But there are many other ḳerovot that have historically been recited, and this one is by the same author! The weekday qerovot cycle for Ḥanukkah, retelling the story of the Greek oppression using intricate poetic language. Included within is a qedushtah that instructs us on some of the halakhic requirements for the Ḥanukkah lights. . . . This is a reconstruction of a liturgy for a Birkat haMazon for Ḥanukkah witnessed in multiple Cairo Geniza manuscripts, including Cambridge, CUL: T-S H4.13; T-S H6.37; T-S 8H10.14; T-S NS 328.56; T-S NS 328.61; T-S AS 101.293; New York, JTS: ENA 2885.7; Oxford: MS heb. e.71/27 – MS heb. e.71/32; St. Peterburg: Yevr. III B 135. . . . “Odekha ki anafta bi (I give thanks to you although you were angry with me) was composed by Joseph ben Solomon of Carcassonne, who is dated to the first half of the eleventh century. This elegant and abstruse poem tells an epic tale of the Jews’ resistance to the decrees of Antiochus IV and includes accounts of both the Hasmonean bride and Judith. It bears a considerable resemblance to texts 4 and 12 of the Hanukkah midrashim (find Grintz, Sefer Yehudit, pp. 205, 207–08) and this is evidence for the circulation of the joint Hasmonean daughter-Judith tales in the eleventh century, even if the surviving manuscripts of these stories are from a later date.” (Deborah Levine Gera, “The Jewish Textual Traditions” in The Sword of Judith: Judith Studies Across the Disciplines (2010).) . . . Shnei Zeitim, by Shlomo ibn Gabirol, was once the most beloved song for Ḥanukkah. Though in recent years it has largely been replaced in popular consciousness by Maoz Tsur, in rites which preserve the customs of piyyut recitation within the Shema service it is still a beloved part of the holiday. The piyyut, a meorah — intended to introduce the ḥatimah for the Ahavah Rabbah blessing before the Shema, is included here with an original translation. Interestingly enough, Shnei Zeitim has an anti-Hasmonean focus, with emphasis on the importance of separation of powers between priest and king. For further discusson of this aspect, I’d recommend Yitzhak Szyf’s article on The Lehrhaus. . . . “Avnei Y’qar” is a succint piyyut for Ḥanukkah, traditionally attributed to R. Abraham ibn Ezra, and particularly beloved by the Yemenites. Interestingly, it doesn’t mention the miracle of the oil whatsoever, focusing on the degradation of the land under Greek occupation as well as the Hasmonean victory itself. Included is a poetic acrostic translation into English. . . . A German translation of Maoz Tsur, by the early Reform rabbi Leopold Stein. This singable German translation was cited as an inspiration for Gustav Gottheil and Marcus Jastrow’s well-known English edition. In some communities in the German Empire, for instance the community of Beuthen (now Bytom, Poland), it was recited during the morning service on Ḥanukkah. It poetically translates the first five verses in their entirety, avoiding the controversial sixth verse (said by some to have been added post-facto, and rejected by the early Reform movement). . . . This is an English translation of Maoz Tsur published by The Hebrew Standard for their 1893 Ḥanukkah issue (vol. 29, no. 12, New York, Friday, 8 December 1893 — 29 Kislev 5654). The Hebrew Standard was one of the biggest English-language Jewish papers in America around the turn of the twentieth century, generally taking a more traditionalist line than the Reform papers and a more moderate line than the leftist ones. This translation, simply titled “Chanukah”, unfortunately goes unattributed in the pages of The Hebrew Standard. The translation follows an ABABCCDD rhyme scheme (for those unfamiliar with rhyme scheme notation, this is the same rhyme scheme as “The Star-Spangled Banner“), unlike the Hebrew’s ABABBBccB. . . . Tags: 13th century C.E., 51st century A.M., ABABCCDD, Acrostic signature, American Jewry of the United States, High Middle Ages, Mainz, מעוז צור Maoz Tsur, national anthems, Needing Attribution, Patriotic hymns, פיוטים piyyuṭim, rhyming translation A singable translation of Maoz Tsur by the great ḥakham Frederick de Sola Mendes, here transcribed from the Union Hymnal (CCAR 1914), hymn 190. The translation largely reflects the Hebrew, omitting two verses — the final (and according to some, last added) verse, and the fourth verse about Purim and Haman. . . . Maoz Tsur as translated by Dr. Solomon Solis-Cohen, with Hebrew adapted in the first stanza by Joseph Herman Hertz, chief rabbi of the British Empire. . . . A singing translation of the popular piyyut (devotional poem), “Maoz Tzur,” by Reb Zalman for Ḥanukkah. . . . A complete poetic translation (all six verses) of Maoz Tsur. As far as the editor knows this is the first translation of Maoz Tsur to both (a) cover all the verses relatively accurately and (b) preserve the strict ABAB-BBCCB rhyme scheme of the original. (Reb Zalman’s comes close but it goes ABAB-CCDDC instead). If it sounds violent, that’s because it *is* violent. Ḥanukkah is a holiday about actively fighting against assimilation and abuse. A lot of Maoz Tsur translations are censored, but it’s a powerful, loud, and even nationalist statement. . . . Before potatoes entered the diet of Ashkenazi Jews, latkes were cheese pancakes, or cassola, as described in the poem “Even Boḥan” (Touchstone) by Rabbi Kalonymus b, Kalonymus ben Meir. . . . A 15th century Ḥanukkah vs. Shabbat rap battle. Technically it’s not a rap battle–just a piyyut introducing “Mi Khamokha” in the blessing after the Shema on the Shabbat morning of Ḥanukkah . . . . This is a transcription and translation of the song הַאגְּדָה עוֹוָאִידְנָא (Agda Ŋowaidna) as presented on Twitter, 6 December 2021 by Josh Calvo (@joshuac220), writing “In Meknes, Morocco, on the day after Ḥanukkah (which is today, alas) the Jewish community would come together to a light a bonfire from the leftover wax and oil of the holiday, singing this song (in Arabic) while watching the blaze.” . . . This is a Mi Khamokha piyyut by Yisrael Najara for Shabbat Ḥanukkah retelling Megilat Antiokhos in a lengthy fourfold acrostic with each stanza ending in בוֹ. . . . Yah Hatsel Yonah is a traditional piyyut for Ḥanukkah, of unknown origin (although it spells out the name Yehuda as an acrostic). Beloved in Iraqi Jewish circles, it discusses the hope that Israel, likened to a dove, will be able to celebrate Ḥanukkah during a time of true redemption. Included is a relatively literal (but de-gendered) translation, as well as a poetic singable one. . . . Kabbalistic kavvanot and blessing formulations for the eight nights of Ḥanukkah. . . . For the purpose of the unification of the Holy One and His divine (feminine) Presence, with trepidation and love and love and trepidation, to unify the name Yud-Kay with Vav-Kay (the four letters of the Tetragrammaton) with a complete unity in the name of all Israel, behold I intend in the lighting of the Hanukkah candle to fulfill the command of my Creator as our wise men of blessed memory have commanded us to repair her root in a supernal abode. . . . This rhyming paraphrase and translation of the blessing over the lighting of the Ḥanukkiah was written by Jessie Ethel Sampter and published in her Around the Year in Rhymes for the Jewish Child (1920), p. 31. . . . Did you know that the great songwriter and activist Woody Guthrie wrote Ḥanukkah music? It’s true. Though Guthrie himself was not Jewish, Marjorie Greenblatt, his second wife and their children were, and he would write Ḥanukkah songs for the kids in his neighborhood in the 1940s. Two of these songs were recorded by Moses Asch, head of Folkways Records, in 1949 — a kid’s song called “Hanuka Dance,” and a twenty-verse ballad retelling the story of Ḥanukkah called “The Many and the Few.” Below is an original Hebrew translation of “The Many and the Few,” preserving the meter of the original. With a simple melody and a lot of historical research, it could certainly be sung at a Ḥanukkah event. . . . 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). . . . This is an intention that I composed for the conclusion of a performance piece, Inner Fire, created and performed by my Mistabra Institute for Jewish Textual Activism at Brandeis University in 2002. It is as relevant today as ever. Please use it for inspiration when you light Ḥanuka candles. . . . Just in time for Ḥanukkah, Chajm Guski shares a חנוכה מדריך (Ḥanukkah Madrikh), Handbook for Ḥanukkah, with a Deutsch translation and transliteration of the blessings on lighting the Ḥanukiah, the kavanah, HaNerot HaLalu, and the piyyut, Maoz Tzur. . . . Here’s a first draft of a brief liturgy for last night, for solstice plus Ḥanukkah. Note that this is a kind of eco-liturgy, but it also stands on its own without imposing an ecological overlay. Since it’s still solstice all day, you may want to use this prayer now, or at dusk tonight. . . . This is a new version of the popular Ḥanukkah song, Banu Ḥoshekh. (The original by Sara Levi-Tanai can be found here.) Our new version does two things: 1) it avoids the association of darkness and blackness (shḥor) with evil and harm, which in our society gets tangled up with white supremacy, and 2) honors the darkness as something precious that we need, especially in our time of light pollution when so much of the time, so many people can’t even see the stars. . . . A Ḥanukkah meditation on the hidden, infinite light of creation, the Or HaGanuz, with some of the midrashic and Ḥasidic sources it is based upon. . . . “How Much Light? A Ḥanukkah Meditation” by Rabbi Menachem Creditor was first shared on the second night of Ḥanukkah 5782 (2021) via the Open Siddur Project discussion group on Facebook. . . . A supplemental stanza to the popular 13th century piyyut, Maoz Tsur, for the Ḥanukkah occurring in the aftermath of the horrors on 7 October. . . . A supplemental stanza to the popular 13th century piyyut, Maoz Tsur, for the Ḥanukkah occurring in the aftermath of the horrors on 7 October, as written and shared by דנה פרל. . . . Four things to pray and learn for the last night and day of Ḥanukkah. . . . An original announcement, or hakhraza, for days of thanksgiving (Purim and Ḥanukkah). Written in the style of other more well-known announcements, like the Sephardic announcement of fasts, or the Italian-rite announcement for Pesaḥ, and to be recited in the same location in the Torah service after the haftara. . . . An additional stanza to the popular Ḥanukkah song, Maoz Tsur, for the second Ḥanukkah after the massacres on 7 October 2023. . . . This Ḥanukkah prayer for the well-being of the captives taken during the massacres of HAMA”S and its allies on 7 October 2023, and for all in Israel affected by the ensuing war, was prepared by Rabbi Yuval Cherlow for Tzohar and Atid l’Otef. The prayer and its English translation were disseminated by social media and news services before Ḥanukkah on 25 December 2024. . . . |
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