Learn the Chanukah Blessings
Learn the Chanukah blessings with Shira.Chanuka Brachot, track 17 from Shira’s Chanukah album.
Click here to listen to the Brachot.
Place your candles in your Menorah from Right to Left. Hold up your shamash high in the air!
1. Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olamAsher kidshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanuL’hadlik ner shel Chanukah.
Blessed are You, God our God, Rule of the universe who makes us holy with the commandment to kindle the lights of Chanukah.
Now light your candles, Left to Right!
2. Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olamShe-asa-nisim lavoteinu bayamim ha-hem bazman hazeh.
Blesed are You, God our God, Rule of the universe who performed miracles in days of old, at this season.
3. (Only sung on the very first night) Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olamShe-hechiyanu v’kiyamanu v’higiyanu lazman hazeh.
Blessed are You, God our God, Rule of the universe for giving us life, sustaining us, and for enabling us to reach this season.
ShirLaLa Chanukah Comic Book
Sing, dance, read and follow the story of Chanukah with the ShirLaLa Chanukah Comic Book!
How to Play Dreidel!
Let’s Play Dreidel!
Sivivon sov sov! Sivivon is the Hebrew word for the spinning top that goes “round and round”.Timeto play. Make a circle and find some friends or family, at least 3people for a fun game. Distribute coins, chocolates, or candies evenlyamong the players. My family always played with peanuts. Seven or Eightpieces each should do at the beginning.Each player contributes two coins to the middle of the circle.Spin the dreidel! And here’s what to do with each different letter:Nun – mean you get N-N-N-Nothin! Nothing happens, next player’s turn.Gimmel – means you say G-G-G-Gimmee! You get the whole pot of coins!Hey – means you take H-H-H-Half! Player takes 1/2 of the pot.Shin – Sh-Sh-Sh-Shoooot! Ya gotta put 1 coin back in the pot.Every time there is nothing left in the pot, each player must contribute 2 coins to get the next round started.A little more info on the dreidel..Didyou know that “dreidel” is the Yiddish word for it? And the letters oneach side of the dreidel stand for words in both Yiddish and Hebrew.The Yiddish words help you play the game, the Hebrew words tell thestory.To help understand the game, in Yiddish the letters stand for:
- Nun – “nisht” or nothing
- Gimmel – “gantz” or everything
- Hey – “halb” or half
- Shin – “shtel” or put in
To tell the story, in Hebrew the letters the stand for:Nes Gadol Haya Sham! A great miracle happened there.Listen to ShirLaLa Chanukah and follow along with the original Chanukah Comic to learn the rest of the exciting story.Why do we play dreidel? Some people say that it all started whenthe Jews were under Syrian rule and they weren’t allowed to studyTorah. When they saw the Syrians coming their way, they quickly hidtheir Jewish books and took out their dreidels to trick the soldiersinto thinking they were just playing a game.Good luck and happy spinning!
P.S. Did you know that in Israel, the letter Shin (which stands for”Sham” or there) is replaced with the letter Pey which stands for “Poh”or here. When you’re in Israel you can say, “A great miracle happenedhere!”
15 minutes media