Hostess: (while lighting the holiday candles)
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has sanctified us by your commandments and commanded us to kindle the light of the holiday.
Leader: (Genesis 1.1-4)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.
Reader: (John 1.1-5)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
Leader: (praying)
O God, through your Son you have bestowed on your people the brightness of your light; Sanctify this new fire, and grant that in this Paschal feast we may so burn with heavenly desires, that with pure minds we may attain to the festival of everlasting light; through Jesus our Messiah and Lord.
People: Amen.
