Musical Light for Hanukkah

ByRising Song Institute

Sounds of Shabbat and the Holidays

A source sheet for Hanukkah exploring a selection of light-filled songs from Hadar’s Rising Song Records.

“Nireh Or” by R. Yosef Goldman from Abitah

תהילים י״ח:כ״ט

כִּֽי־אַ֭תָּה תָּאִ֣יר נֵרִ֑י
ה׳ אֱ֝לֹקַ֗י יַגִּ֥יהַּ חׇשְׁכִּֽי׃

Psalms 18:29

For it is You Who lights my lamp
The Lord my God will reflect
light in my darkness

תהילים ל״ו:י׳

כִּֽי־עִ֭מְּךָ מְק֣וֹר חַיִּ֑ים
בְּ֝אוֹרְךָ֗ נִרְאֶה־אֽוֹר׃

Psalms 36:10

For with You is the source of life
In Your light, we see light

תהילים ס״ז:ב׳

אֱֽלֹקִ֗ים יְחׇנֵּ֥נוּ וִיבָרְכֵ֑נוּ
יָ֤אֵֽר פָּנָ֖יו אִתָּ֣נוּ סֶֽלָה׃

Psalms 67:2

May God be gracious to us and bless us
May God show us the light
of God's countenance, selah

𝐾𝑖 𝑎𝑡𝑎ℎ 𝑡𝑎’𝑖𝑟 𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑖
𝐴𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑖 𝑒𝑙𝑜ℎ𝑎𝑖 𝑦𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑎ℎ 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑘𝑖
𝐾𝑖 𝑖𝑚’𝑐ℎ𝑎 𝑚𝑒𝑘𝑜𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑦𝑖𝑚
𝐵𝑒-𝑜𝑟𝑘ℎ𝑎 𝑛𝑖𝑟’𝑒ℎ 𝑜𝑟
𝐸𝑙𝑜ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑦𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑢 𝑣𝑒𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑢
𝑌𝑎’𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑣 𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑢, 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑎ℎ

The Torah of “Nireh Or” (from the extensive album liner notes by Yosef)

There is a kabbalistic custom among some Iraqi and Middle Eastern Jews to recite a series of verses about light and our relationship with the divine before lighting Shabbat candles, as well as on the 25th day of Elul, the day that our tradition says was the first day of Creation when light was formed (six days before Rosh Hashanah, on the day that Creation culminated with the creation of humanity). I set a few of those verses to music, as a reflection on how we connect to the spark of our aliveness in times of darkness and uncertainty.

Each of us experiences periods of darkness in our lives. We may feel like we are living under the burden of deep hardship and suffering, of loss and grief, or that the weight of our life experiences has crushed some of our dreams. A job or relationship that nourished or defined us, may have lost its sense of meaning or come to an end.

In times of personal darkness we can feel utterly alone. We call to the divine and the answer is not clear. The path forward may be inscrutable and we don’t know how to move on, how to get unstuck. It may be time to allow ourselves to adjust to night vision, to live in the mystery.

In moments when we find ourselves at the edge of what we can control, we come face to face with the unknown. There, at the edge, we find life waiting for us. Jewish wisdom teaches that there is great power in the mystery — to transform, comfort, and heal. The unknowable darkness itself can be a pathway to a lived experience of the sacred and encounters with the Source of Life that are only accessible in those times in life.

When Moshe tells Israel the story of Revelation 40 years later, he says, “You heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire” (Devarim 5:20). We need not dispel the darkness to reconnect to our sense of aliveness.
Nireh Or was released on Rosh Ḥodesh Elul a time full of possibility for the year ahead. Sitting in the darkness, with no moon to illuminate the night, the song was offered with the blessing that we may learn to be present with mystery, to encounter the Divine light that flickers forever in our souls, as we embark on our journeys toward teshuvah and the new year that awaits us.

“Karev Yom” by R. Deborah Sacks Mintz from Yetzira

הגדה של פסח, נרצה, ויהי בחצי הלילה י״א

קָרֵב יוֹם ,קָרֵב יוֹם...
קָרֵב יוֹם אֲשֶׁר הוּא לֹא יוֹם
הוּא לֹא יוֹם וְלֹא לַיְלָה

תָּאִיר כְּאוֹר
תָּאִיר כְּאוֹר יוֹם
חֶשְׁכַּת לַיְלָה
קָרֵב יוֹם, קָרֵב יוֹם...

Pesach Haggadah, Nirtzah, And It Happened at Midnight 11

Bring close the day...

Bring close the day that isn't day
That is neither day nor night

Illuminate like the light
Illuminate like the light of the day The darkness of the night

Bring close the day...

𝐾𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑣 𝑦𝑜𝑚 𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑢 𝑙𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑚
𝐻𝑢 𝑙𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑚 𝑣'𝑙𝑜 𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎

𝑇𝑎'𝑖𝑟 𝑘'𝑜𝑟
𝑇𝑎'𝑖𝑟 𝑘'𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑚
𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑠ℎ𝑘𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎

[Read a short essay about this song and how it relate to a different holiday, “Singing in Redemption, Yearning for Integration,” by R. Deborah Sacks Mintz, in the Hadar's Pesach Reader for 5782.]

“Light My Soul” by R. Ariel Root Wolpe from Ruach Neshama

Lyrics

Sing sweetly, soul angel
Nurse wings from my shoulders
Fierce and full of fire
will they keep me from growing older?

Through the glass, steps emerge
tempting winds dance across my eyes
A fluttering of the flock
a shuttering of the skies

Oh God is afraid to call on me
Until I open the window
And rightly so, for nothing can be done
without the heat of my soul

Scatter shards through my bedroom
To help me feel the seasons change.
It’s a tragedy
When you can’t shut out the cold
There’s a majesty
In lighting your soul.

Light my soul

ChordsIntroAm F G - (2x)

VerseAm / C/B Csus2 / C / C /G / Em / Am / Am /Am / C/B Csus2 / C / C /G / Em / Am / AmAm / C / Daddsus / Daddsus / Am / C / Daddsus / Daddsus /

Chorus
Am / F / G / G / (2x)
Am / Am /

Chorus/Outro
Am / F / G / G / (6x)
Download chords and sheet music for more of the songs from Ruach Neshama directly from R. Ariel Root Wolpe.

Related sources

משלי כ׳:כ״ז

נֵ֣ר ה׳ נִשְׁמַ֣ת אָדָ֑ם חֹ֝פֵ֗שׂ כׇּל־חַדְרֵי־בָֽטֶן׃

Proverbs 20:27

The lifebreath/soul of a person is the lamp of the LORD revealing all innermost parts.

שפת אמת, בראשית, לחנוכה א׳:ה׳

ומכש"כ בימים הללו שנעשה נסים שיהי' להדליק הנרות עפ"י נס אף שגם בחי' הנרות הי' חסר לבנ"י אז. ממילא ההארה גם עתה למצוא סיוע ע"י מצות נר חנוכה למצוא ע"י הנרות בחי' הנגנז.

Sefat Emet, Genesis, For Chanuka 1:5

Especially at this season, when lights were miraculously lit for Israel even though they did not have enough oil, there remains light even now to help us, with the aid of these Hanukkah candles, to find that hidden light within. [Translation by R. Art Green]

שבת כ״א ב:ח׳

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: נֵר חֲנוּכָּה מִצְוָה לְהַנִּיחָהּ עַל פֶּתַח בֵּיתוֹ מִבַּחוּץ. אִם הָיָה דָּר בַּעֲלִיָּיה — מַנִּיחָהּ בַּחַלּוֹן הַסְּמוּכָה לִרְשׁוּת הָרַבִּים.

Shabbat 21b:8

The Sages taught in a baraita: It is a mitzva to place the Hanukkah lamp at the entrance to one’s house on the outside, so that all can see it. If he lived upstairs, he places it at the window adjacent to the public domain.

ליקוטי מוהר"ן ט׳:ג׳:ו׳

וְזֶה פֵּרוּשׁ: (בראשית ו׳:ט״ז) צֹהַר תַּעֲשֶׂה לַתֵּבָה, פֵּרֵשׁ רַשִׁ"י: יֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים חַלּוֹן, וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים אֶבֶן טוֹב. וְהַחִלּוּק שֶׁבֵּין חַלּוֹן לְאֶבֶן טוֹב – כִּי הַחַלּוֹן אֵין לוֹ אוֹר בְּעַצְמוֹ, אֶלָּא דֶּרֶךְ שָׁם נִכְנָס הָאוֹר, אֲבָל כְּשֶׁאֵין אוֹר, אֵין מֵאִיר; אֲבָל אֶבֶן טוֹב, אֲפִלּוּ כְּשֶׁאֵין אוֹר מִבַּחוּץ, הוּא מֵאִיר בְּעַצְמוֹ. כֵּן יֵשׁ בְּנֵי־אָדָם, שֶׁדִּבּוּרָם הוּא חַלּוֹן, וְאֵין כֹּחַ לְהָאִיר לָהֶם בְּעַצְמָם. וְזֶה: יֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, וַאֲמִירָתָם נַעֲשֶׂה חַלּוֹן; וְיֵשׁ, שֶׁאֲמִירָתָם נַעֲשֶׂה אֶבֶן טוֹב וּמֵאִיר:

Likutei Moharan 9:3:6

This is the explanation of, “Make a light for the ark.” Rashi explains: “some say a window, and some say a precious jewel.” The difference between a window and a precious jewel is that a window has no light of its own. It is simply [a medium] for the light to enter through. But when there is no light, the window does not give light. With a precious jewel, however, even when there is no outside light the jewel shines of itself. So, too, there are people whose words are [like] a window, incapable of giving them light on their own. This is [what Rashi means by] “some say.” Their “saying” becomes a window. And there are some whose “saying” becomes a precious jewel and [their words] radiate.

What's the connection between the biblical Ark and Hanukkah? According to the Hasidic master Rabbi Eliezer of Dziko, in his book Imrei Noam, Noah made olive oil from the branch brought by the dove indicating that dry land was near. This oil was handed down until Jacob hid the oil at the site of the future Temple in Jerusalem, where it was ultimately, miraculously found and used to re-dedicate the Beit Hamikdash. [Seen in a teaching from Rabbi Yonatan Neril, who quoted this oral tradition as written down by R. David Hertzberg.]