Lighting the Festival Candles

Lighting the Festival Candles

We begin our Pesach seder by lighting the festival candles.

The day ends. The earth turns from sunshine to dusk and then to darkess. We assume for ourselves the task of kindling candles in the night, to enlighten the dark corners of our world. We still live in perilous times.

Behind us, though receding into the memories of even the oldest among us, we can still sense the fires of the Holocust when men, women, and children were murdered solely because they were Jewish, and many others who were killed because of their ethnic origins, sexual orientation, disabilities, or political beliefs. Before us, the threat of acts of violence and terrorism still remains. 

May these candles remind us that we must help and not hurt, cause joy and not sorrow, create and not destroy, and help all to be free.

(The candles are lit as the blessings are sung)

Baruch ata Adonai, Elohanu, Melech ha-olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitsvotav, v'tisvanu, l'hadlik neir, shel (Shabat v'sel) Yom Tov.

Baruch ata Adonai, Elohanu, Melech ha-olam, shehecheyanu, v'kiy'manu, v' higi-anu, laz'man hazeh.

We praise You, God, who makes us holy with commandments, so we light the (Shabbat and) holiday candles. We praise God for the gift of life and this happy time.


haggadah Section: Introduction
Source: A Children's Haggadah, JewBelong, unknown