Maoz Tzur

ma-oz tzur

מעוז צור

Israeli: ' marks a reduced vowel that Israeli speech drops (b'rachah); when the vowel is pronounced it is written e (lefanecha). - separates syllables that would otherwise run together.

How to read the transliterations

After lighting the first light, say:

Sofrim ch. 20

Hebrew

הַנֵּרוֹת הַלָּלוּ אָנוּ מַדְלִיקִים
עַל הַנִּסִּים וְעַל הַנִּפְלָאוֹת וְעַל הַתְּשׁוּעוֹת וְעַל הַמִּלְחָמוֹת
שֶׁעָשִׂיתָ לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה
עַל יְדֵי כֹהֲנֶיךָ הַקְּדוֹשִׁים.

Israeli

hanerot halalu anu madlikim
al hanisim ve-al hanifla-ot ve-al hatshu-ot ve-al hamilchamot
she-asita la-avoteinu bayamim hahem bazman hazeh
al yedei chohanecha hakdoshim.

Hebrew

וְכָל שְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה
הַנֵּרוֹת הַלָּלוּ קֹדֶשׁ הֵם
וְאֵין לָנוּ רְשׁוּת לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בָּהֶם
אֶלָּא לִרְאוֹתָם בִּלְבָד

Israeli

vechol sh'monat yemei Chanukah
hanerot halalu kodesh hem
ve-ein lanu reshut lehishtamesh bahem
ela lirotam bilvad

Hebrew

כְּדֵי לְהוֹדוֹת וּלְהַלֵּל לְשִׁמְךָ הַגָּדוֹל
עַל נִסֶּיךָ וְעַל נִפְלְאוֹתֶיךָ וְעַל יְשׁוּעָתֶךָ.

Israeli

k'dei lehodot ulehalel leshimcha hagadol
al nisecha ve-al nifle-otecha ve-al yeshu-atecha.

After all the lights are lit:

Hebrew

מָעוֹז צוּר יְשׁוּעָתִי
לְךָ נָאֶה לְשַׁבֵּחַ
תִּכּוֹן בֵּית תְּפִלָּתִי
וְשָׁם תּוֹדָה נְזַבֵּחַ
לְעֵת תָּכִין מַטְבֵּחַ
מִצָּר הַמְנַבֵּחַ
אָז אֶגְמוֹר
בְּשִׁיר מִזְמוֹר
חֲנֻכַּת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ.

Israeli

ma-oz tzur yeshu-ati
lecha na-eh leshabeach
tikon beit t'filati
vesham todah nezabeach
le-et tachin matbeach
mitzar hamenabeach
az egmor
b'shir mizmor
chanukat hamizbeach.

Commentary

… but rather are lit in order to “publicize the miracle.” A separate light or candle, the shamash, is used to light the others, and is placed slightly higher, so that if we benefit from the light, it is from the shamash, and not those that form part of the mitzva itself.

מָעוֹז צוּר יְשׁוּעָתִי Refuge, Rock of my salvation: Composed in Germany in the thirteenth century. The first letters of the verses spell out the name Mordekhai; other than this, we cannot identify the author. The first verse recalls the rededication of the Temple and looks forward to its future restoration. The next four describe, sequentially, four crises and deliverances of Jewish history – slavery in Egypt, the Babylonian exile, Purim, and Hanukka itself. The …

They are lit at home, at nightfall or soon thereafter, preferably in a position where they can be seen by passers-by. Our custom is to light one candle (or olive-oil lamp) on the first night, two on the second, and so on. The first candle is placed at the right of the menora; on each night, the first light to be lit is the leftmost.

הַנֵּרוֹת הַלָּלוּ We light these lights: A hymn about the holiness of the lights and why we light them. The text is known from the rabbinic tractate, Sofrim, though it has undergone some changes in the intervening centuries. וְאֵין לָנוּ רְשׁוּת לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בָּהֶם We are not permitted to make any other use of them: Unlike Shabbat lights, those of Hanukka are not lit for the sake of the light they give, …