Hanukkah Prayers: How to Say the Menorah Blessings - Chabad.org

We are not the first to connect these two lights—the primordial light of creation and the Hanukkah light. The rabbis of the Kabala, the Jewish mystical tradition, claimed that these lights were one and the same, that the light we contemplate on Hanukkah is in fact the Or Genuzah (literally, “the light that was stored away”), the primordial light of

“thankful am I.” The thankfulness comes first, before the self. We do not start our day focused on ourselves and what we lack—on our needs, worries, and wants. Rather, as Rabbi Shai Held observes, we start with gratitude to something far bigger than ourselves, which we believe is responsible for our existence.

It was decided that this time, too, eight days of dedicatory ceremonies and sacrifices would be held. The Maccabees also may have hoped that this rededication would be graced with a miraculous fire from heaven when the sacrifice was offered, as both Moses’ and Solomon’s

Voting to trust their own experience as worthy and significant, the Maccabees decreed that Hanukkah, the dedication holiday, be celebrated annually for eight days, starting with 25 Kislev.

Ancient Jewish wisdom teaches that blessings are a way to declare the sacredness of the task we are about to engage in, and to invite something bigger and beyond ourselves to guide and support us; they help to focus our energy and align our spirit.