Hanukkah Prayers 2021: Blessings To Say During The Jewish Festival Of Lights

The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah is all about celebrating miracles. For all eight days of the holiday, Jews light candelabras, called hanukias, to remember the lamp that stayed lit for eight days after their ancestors reclaimed a temple from Greek invaders during the second century B.C. This year, Hanukkah begins at sundown Sunday and will end with nightfall on Dec. 6.

There are certain blessings that are recited while lighting the candles. Here are some of them:

Blessing One: When Jews light the first candle in the middle of the menorah, they say or sing this blessing.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of Hanukkah.

Blessing Two: The second blessing asks Jews to remember the miracles performed by their ancestors.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

Blessing Three: The third blessing is said only when the Hanukkah menorah is first lit each year.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this time.

Here are some famous quotes/prayers to celebrate Hanukkah, courtesy FamousQuotes 123:

1. "Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame. Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart." — Hannah Senesh

2. "On Hanukkah, the first dark night, light yourself a candle bright. I'll you, if you will me invite, to dance within that gentle light."— Nicholas Gordon

3. "Chanuka is about the spark of the divine in all of us made in God's image." — Suzanne Field

4. "The darkness of the whole world cannot swallow the glowing of a candle." — Robert Altinger

5. "To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle, every cubic inch of space is a miracle." — Walt Whitman

6. "The commandment to light the Hanukkah lamp is an exceedingly precious one, and one should be particularly careful to fulfill it. In order to make known the miracle, and to offer additional praise ... to God for the Wonders which He has wrought for us." — Maimonides