The Hanukkah candle lighting blessings

Two blessings every night and a third on the first night, in the Ashkenaz, Sefard and Edot HaMizrach wordings.

The English under each line is Israel.com's own plain-English meaning, not a printed translation.

Ashkenaz

The blessing for lighting the candle

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְוֺתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל חֲנֻכָּה.

Blessed are You, God, our God, King of the universe, who made us holy with His commandments and commanded us to light the Hanukkah candle.

The blessing for the miracles

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁעָשָׂה נִסִּים לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ בַּיָּמִים הַהֵם בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה.

Blessed are You, God, our God, King of the universe, who did miracles for our ancestors in those days, at this season.

Shehecheyanu, customarily said on the first night only

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה.

Blessed are You, God, our God, King of the universe, who kept us alive, sustained us and brought us to this season.

Ashkenaz
Hebrew text from Siddur, Ashkenaz wording: lighting the Hanukkah candles (Hebrew Wikisource) (CC BY-SA).
Compared letter by letter with The complete siddur, Birnbaum, Ashkenaz: lighting the Hanukkah candle (Hebrew Wikisource) (CC BY-SA), Daat Siddur Ashkenaz (public domain).

Sefard
Hebrew text from Torat Emet 357 (public domain).
Compared letter by letter with The order of lighting the Hanukkah candles (Hebrew Wikisource) (CC BY-SA).

Edot HaMizrach
Hebrew text from Shaliehsaboo Edition (CC0).
Compared letter by letter with Torat Emet 357 (public domain).

Sources read on 3 November 2026

When and how this prayer is said

Customarily said each evening of Hanukkah as the candles are lit, with Shehecheyanu on the first night only.
This page has 3 wordings: Ashkenaz, Sefard and Edot HaMizrach
38 words, about 1 minute to read

More prayers and texts

Prayers by the time they are said·All 150 psalms and today's reading

Questions about this prayer

How many blessings are said when the Hanukkah candles are lit?

Customarily two every night: the blessing for lighting the candle and the blessing for the miracles. A third, Shehecheyanu, is customarily added on the first night only.

How many candles are lit, and when?

Customarily in the evening: one candle on the first night and one more on each night after it, up to eight on the last night, together with a helper candle, the shamash, that lights the others. On Friday the Hanukkah candles are customarily lit before the Shabbat candles.

Is the blessing the same in every tradition?

Nearly. The three wordings on this page have the same words, except in the blessing for lighting the candle: the Ashkenaz wording says a candle “of Hanukkah” (shel Hanukkah), and the Sefard and Edot HaMizrach wordings say “Hanukkah candle” without the word shel.

What is Shehecheyanu?

A blessing of thanks for reaching a new season: “who kept us alive, sustained us and brought us to this season.” It is customarily said on the first night of Hanukkah, and on other festivals too.

How long does Hanukkah candle lighting take?

About 1 minute at a steady pace, 38 words.

The text of the prayer