Compared with other key dates on the Jewish calendar (such as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, or Passover), Hanukkah is actually a relatively minor holiday. But because it roughly coincides with the winter festive season (and marketers have pumped it up as a selling tool), it's grown to become a big deal for American Jews.
Also called the Festival of Lights, the holiday is a cherished time for loved ones to come together, light the Hanukkah candles, eat Hanukkah foods such as latkes and sufganiyot, exchange Hanukkah gifts, and play Hanukkah games like the traditional spinning top game known as dreidel.
It's also a time for Hanukkah prayer, with a set of blessings recited while lighting the candles in a nine-branch candle holder called a menorah or hanukkiyah. The ninth spot is for the candle known as the shamash, the "helper candle" which is used to light the other eight.
This number of candles represents the "miracle of Hanukkah," which happened when just a small bit of oil burned for eight days during the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where the Jewish people had fought back against the Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt in the second century B.C.
Ahead, find the traditional Hanukkah prayers in Hebrew, transliteration, and English translation. Get them ready for this year, when Hanukkah 2023 begins at sundown on Thursday, December 7 and runs through the evening of Friday, December 15.
Be sure to bookmark these Hanukkah prayers, along with our guides to Jewish blessings for everyday situations and important holidays:
Yom Kippur Prayers | Rosh Hashanah Prayers | Purim Blessings
Traditional blessings over the Hanukkah candles
Candles are added to the menorah from right to left (the way Hebrew is read), but kindled from left to right, with the newest candle lit first (after the shamash). Recite or sing these prayers as you light the menorah each night of Hanukkah.
On the Shabbat of Hanukkah, light the Hanukkah candles before the Shabbat candles.
The first blessing
Hebrew:
,בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִידְשָׁנוּ בְּמִצוֹתָיו
.וְצִיוָּנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל חַנֻכָה
Transliteration:
Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tsivanu l’hadlik ner shel Hanukkah.
English translation:
Blessed are you, Adonai Our God, Ruler of the Universe, who makes us holy through Your commandments, and commands us to kindle the Hanukkah lights.
The second blessing
Hebrew:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁעָשָׂה נִסִּים לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ
.וְאִמּוֹתֵֽינוּ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה
Transliteration:
Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech haolam, she-asah nisim la’avoteinu v’imoteinu bayamim hahaeim baz'man hazeh.
English translation:
Blessed are You, Adonai Our God, Ruler of the universe, who performed wondrous deeds for our ancestors in those ancient days at this season.
The third blessing (first night only):
On the first night of Hanukkah, the shehecheyanu is also recited. It is a prayer of gratitude that is said on special occasions.
Hebrew:
,בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָּנוּ, וְקִיְּמָנוּ
.וְהִגִּיָּענוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה
Transliteration:
Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu Melech ha’olam, shehecheyanu, v’kiyimanu, v’higiyanu laz'man hazeh.
English translation:
Blessed are You, Adonai Our God, Ruler of the universe, Who has given us life and sustained us and enabled us to reach this season.
This year, Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 7, 2023.
Alesandra is a digital travel and lifestyle journalist based in Los Angeles whose work has appeared in Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day, Prevention, Insider, Glamour, Shondaland, AFAR, Parents, TODAY and countless other online and print outlets. Alesandra has a masters degree in journalism with an emphasis on cultural reporting and criticism from NYU, and a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley. An avid traveler, she trots the globe with her husband and their twins.
