A song for Hanukkah unique to the Turkish tradition. Written by Rabbi Haim Bejerano, who served the Sephardic communities of Bulgaria, Romania, and was the Chief Rabbi of Turkey in the last years of his life. He was very involved in the Maftirim choir and the Zionist movement among the Sephardic community. As a member of the generation that experienced the end of the Ottoman empire, his activities were multifaceted: the halakhic tradition on the one hand and the modern Zionist affection for Israel on the other. In this light one can also read this poem about its expressions and national Zionist view.
This piyut is an acrostic; the first letters of each line spell the author’s name: Haim ben Moshe Bejerano.
Learn more here (in Hebrew)
