Mi y’maleil g’vurot Yisrael
Otan mi yimneh?
Hein b’khol dor yakum hagibor,
go-el ha-am.
Sh’ma!
Ba-yamim ha-heim ba-z’man hazeh
Makkabi moshiya u’fodeh
U’v’yameinu kol am Yisrael
Yitacheid yakum l’higa-el.

Who can retell the things that befell us, who can count them?
In every age a hero or sage came to our aid
Hear! In days of yore in Israel’s ancient land
Maccabeus led the faithful band
Now all Israel must as one arise
Redeem itself through deed and sacrifice

S’vivon, sov, sov, sov
Chanukah, hu chag tov
Chanukah, hu chag tov
S’vivon, sov, sov, sov!
Chag simcha hu la-am
Nes gadol haya sham
Nes gadol haya sham
Chag simcha hu la-am.

Translation:

Dreidel, spin, spin, spin.
Chanukah is a great holiday.
It is a celebration for our nation.
A great miracle happened there.

I have a little dreydl,
I made it out of clay;
And when it’s dry and ready
Then dreydl I shall play,

O dreydl, dreydl, dreydl,
I made it out of clay;
O dreydl, dreydl, dreydl,
Now dreydl I shall play.

It has a lovely body,
With leg so short and thin;
And when it is all tired,
It drops and then I win.

O dreydl, dreydl, dreydl,
With leg so short and thin;
O dreydl, dreydl, dreydl,
It drops and then I win.

My dreydl’s always playful,
It loves to dance and spin.
A happy game of dreydl,
Come play, now let’s begin.

O dreydl, dreydl, dreydl,
It loves to dance and spin.
O dreydl, dreydl, dreydl,
Come play, now let’s begin.

Chanukah, Oh Chanukah
Come light the menorah
Let’s have a party
We’ll all dance the hora
Gather round the table, we’ll have a treat
Sivivon to play with, latkes to eat

And while we are playing
The candles are burning low
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago

Yiddish transliteration:

Chanukah, O Chanukah
A yontev a sheyner
A lustiger a freylicher
Nito noch azoyner
Ale nacht in dreydl shpiln mir
Zudigheyse latkes esn mir

Geshvinder tsindt kinder
Di dininke lichtelech on
Zogt “al ha-nisim,” loybt Got far di nisim
Un kumt gicher tantsn in kon

Chanukah, Oh Chanukah, a festival of joy,
A holiday, a jolly-day, for every girl and boy.
Spin the whirling dreidels all week long,
Eat the sizzling latkes, sing the happy songs!
Now light then, tonight then, the flickering candles in a row, Retell the wondrous story of God in all God’s glory, And dance by the candles` cheering glow.

Each Chanukah we glorify brave Judas Maccabeus
Who had the courage to defy Antiochus and free us.
Yet it is not that we should forget
Mrs. Maccabeus to whom we owe a debt.
She mixed them, she fixed them, she poured them into a bowl,
You may not guess, but it was the lat-kes
That gave brave Judah a soul.

The Syrians said, “It cannot be that old Mattathias,
Whose years are more than 83, will dare to defy us!”
But they did not know his secret, you see: Mattathias dined on latkes and tea.
One latke, two latkes, and so on into the night,
You may not guess, but it was the lat-kes
That gave him the courage to fight.

Now these little latkes, so brown and delicious,
Must have really hit the spot, ‘cause with appetites so vicious,
All the heroes downed them after their toil,
Causing in the Temple a shortage of oil!
One latke, two latkes, and so on into the night,
You may not guess, but it was the lat-kes
That gave us the Chanukah lights.

Hanukah Linda sta aki
Ocho kandelas para mi,
Chanukah Linda sta aki,
Ocho kandelas para mi.

Chorus:

Una kandelika
Dos kandelikas
Tres kandelikas
Kuatro kandelikas
Sintyu kandelikas
Seysh kandelikas
Siete kandelikas
Ocho kandelas para mi.

Muchas fiestas vo fazer, con alegrias i plazer.
Muchas fiestas vo fazer, con alegrias i plazer.

Chorus: Una…

Los pastelikas vo kumer, con almendrikas i la miel.
Los pastelikas vo kumer, con almendrikas i la miel.

Chorus: Una…

Translation:
Beautiful Chanukah is here, eight candles for me.
One candle, two candles, three candles,
four candles, five candles, six candles,
seven candles, eight candles for me.

Many parties will be held, with joy and with pleasure.
One candle…

I will cook pastelikas (a Sephardic delicacy) with almonds and honey.
One candle…

Light one candle for the Maccabee children
With thanks that their light didn’t die
Light one candle for the pain they endured
When their right to exist was denied

Light one candle for the terrible sacrifice
Justice and freedom demand
But light one candle for the wisdom to know
When the peacemaker’s time is at hand

Don’t let the light go out!
It’s lasted for so many years!
Don’t let the light go out!
Let it shine through our hope and our tears.
(2x)

Light one candle for the strength that we need
To never become our own foe
And light one candle for those who are suffering

Pain we learned so long ago
Light one candle for all we believe in
That anger not tear us apart

And light one candle to find us together
With peace as the song in our hearts

Don’t let the light go out!
It’s lasted for so many years!
Don’t let the light go out!
Let it shine through our hope and our tears.
(2x)

What is the memory that’s valued so highly
That we keep it alive in that flame?
What’s the commitment to those who have died

That we cry out they’ve not died in vain?
We have come this far always believing
That justice would somehow prevail
This is the burden, this is the promise
This is why we will not fail!

Don’t let the light go out!
Don’t let the light go out!
Don’t let the light go out!

Chanukah, Chanukah,
Chag yafeh kol kach
Or chaviv, misaviv,
Gil l’yeled rach.

Chanukah, Chanukah,
S’vivon sov sov
Sov sov sov, sov sov sov,
Mah na’im vatov.

Sing-able English:
Chanukah, Chanukah, what a holiday,
Chanukah, Chanukah, time to sing and play,
Chanukah, Chanukah, watch the dreidl turn,
Turn, turn, turn, turn, turn, turn,
As the candles burn.

In the hills of Judea
In the dark of the night
There gathered the
Maccabees All ready to fight.

Along came the Syrians
So haughty and proud,
And the battle was started
They clashed long and loud.

When the battle was over
And they counted the dead,
The victory was ours:
The Maccabees led.

They made pure the Temple
And kindled the lights
And a miracle happened:
They burned for eight nights.

I’ve been waiting for dear Chanukah
All the long year through
I’ve been dreaming of the Maccabees
And potato latkes, too!

Can’t you see the candles glowing
And the shammash nice and tall?
I can vision Judah Maccabee
Marching down the hall.

I’ve been waiting for dear Chanukah
Impatient as can be;
I’ve been dreaming of some presents
For a good little kid like me!

I want to sing the blessings
In English and Hebrew
And to kindle the menorah,
Cause I’m proud to be a Jew.

It’s a world of laughter
A world of tears
It’s a world of hopes and world of fears
There’s so much that we share
That it’s time we’re aware
Happy Chanukah to all.

Eat the latkes, light the lights
The Menorah will burn bright
We’ll play dreidel every night
Happy Chanukah to all!

Al hanissim, ve’al hapurkan,
Ve’al hag’vurot ve’al hateshu’ot,
Ve’al hamilchamot she’asita la’avoteinu
Bayamim haheim, bazman hazeh.

In honor of the miracles and deliverance,
Heroic deeds and salvation wrought
And wars You fought, for our fathers,
In days of yore and in present time.

Not by might and not by power,
But by spirit alone,
Shall all men live in peace.
Not by might and not by power,
But by spirit alone,
Shall all men live in peace.
The children sing
The children dream
And their tears may fall
But we’ll hear them call
And another song will rise
Another song will rise
Another song will rise!

Hanerot halalu, anu madlikin

These lights do we kindle

I am so mixed up that I cannot tell you,
I’m sitting in this blender turning brown.
I’ve made friends with the onions & the flour,
& the cook is scouting oil in the town.
I sit here wondering what will come of me,
I can’t be eaten looking as I do.
I need someone to take me out & cook me,
Or I’ll really end up in a royal stew.

Chorus:
I am a latke, I am a latke
& I am waiting for Chanukah to come
I am a latke, I am latke
& I am waiting for Chanukah to come

Every holiday has foods so special,
I’d like to have that same attention too,
I do not want to spend life in this blender,
Wondering what I’m supposed to do.
Matza & choroset are for Pesach,
Chopped liver & challah for Shabbat
Blintzes on Shavuot are delicious,
& gefilte fish no holiday’s without.

Chorus…

It’s important that I have an understanding
Of what it is that I’m supposed to do,
You see, there are many who are homeless,
With no jobs, no clothes & very little food.
It’s so important that we all remember,
That while we have most of the things we need,
We must remember those who have so little,
We must help them, we must be the ones to feed…

Chorus…

Yiddish transliteration:

Fayer, fayer… oy, s’iz heys!
Fayer, fayer… oy, s’iz heys!
Oy, s’iz heys! Oy, se brent a fayer!
Fayerdike, brenendike, heyse latkes!
Oy, se brent a fayer! Oy, s’iz heys!
Fayerdike, brenendike, heyse latkes!
Oy, oy, oy, oy! Oy, se brent a fayer!
Oy, s’iz heys!
Fayerdike, brenendike, heyse latkes!
Fayer, fayer… oy, s’iz heys!
Fayerdike, brenendike, heyse latkes!

Fire, fire… oy, it’s hot!
Fire, fire… oy, it’s hot!
Oy, it’s hot! Oy, a fire’s burning!
Flaming, fiery, red hot latkes!
Oy, a fire’s burning! Oy, it’s hot!
Flaming, fiery, red hot latkes!
Oy, oy, oy, oy! Oy, a fire’s burning!
Oy, it’s hot!
Flaming, fiery, red hot latkes!
Fire, fire… oy, it’s hot!
Flaming, fiery, red hot latkes!

Yiddish transliteration:

Borukh Ateh, zingt der tate
Un er tzindt di likht.
Un di shtraln, milde faln
Oyf zayn blas gezikht.

Un a fayer, heylik, tayer
In di oygn laykht.
Un der mider, mit di glider
Hot zikh oysgeglaykht.

Un es dakht zikh un es trakht zich:
S’iz nokh epes do.
S’iz geblibn vos tzu libn,
Heylik iz di sho.

Alte klangen, lang fargangen,
Neyn! Es kingt nokh atzind.
Zing zhe, tate, Boruch Ateh,
Un ikh blayb dayn kind.

“Blessed are You”, the father sings
As he lights the candles.
And the mild, delicate light
falls upon his pale face.

A fire that’s precious and holy
shines in his eyes;
And this stooped, tired man
begins to stand erect.

And it seems to me , and we believe it,
There still is something here,
there remains much to love.
The hour is a holy one.

Old sounds, long forgotten?
But no, they are still resounding.
Sings father: “Borukh ato . . . .”
I am still your child.