Before one lights the Hanukah candles on the first night, he recites three Berachot: "Le’hadlik Ner Hanukah"; "She’asa Nisim"; and "She’heheyanu." On all other nights of Hanukah, one recites the first two Berachot but omits the Beracha of "She’heheyanu."
According to Sephardic custom, the proper text for the first Beracha is "Le’hadlik Ner Hanukah," as opposed to "Le’hadlik Ner Shel Hanukah." This is in contrast to the Beracha recited over the Shabbat candles, for which we recite the text of "Le’hadlik Ner Shel Shabbat." The Halachic authorities explain that the phrase "Ner Shel Shabbat" indicates that one derives personal benefit from the light of the candles. This text is therefore inappropriate for the Hanukah candles, from which Halacha forbids deriving any sort of personal benefit. Furthermore, the omission of the word "Shel" in the Beracha over the Hanukah candles results in a total of thirteen words, which corresponds to God’s thirteen attributes of mercy. The second Beracha, "She’asa Nisim," also has thirteen words, for the same reason. Together they bth equal ‘26’, which is the numerical value of the name of Hashem.
A Ger (convert to Judaism) may recite the text of "She’asa Nisim La’abotenu" ("who performed miracles for our forefathers"), despite the fact that his forefathers did not belong to the Jewish people. If he prefers, he may recite instead the text of, "She’asa Nisim Le’Yisrael" ("who performed miracles for Israel").
The Beracha of "She’asa Nisim" concludes with the phrase, "Ba’yamim Ha’hem Ba’zman Ha’ze"; it is incorrect to recite, "U’ba’zman Ha’ze."
One should recite these Berachot with proper concentration and enthusiasm. The authorities add that one should dress for Hanukah candle lighting the same way he dresses for prayers in the synagogue, in order to give honor to the angels who come to his home for this special Misva.
After lighting the Hanukah candles, one should recite the hymn, "Hanerot Halalu," which contains thirty-six words, corresponding to the thirty-six candles lit over the course of the eight days. It is then customary to recite "Mizmor Shir Hanukat Ha’bayit" (Tehilim 30), and then to recite seven times the final verse of Tehilim 90 ("Vi’hi No’am") and Tehilim 91 ("Yosheb Be’seter Elyon").
Each night of Hanukah (starting from the second night), the newest candle is positioned to the left of the previous night’s candle. Thus, on the first night one positions the candle on the extreme right, adding one candle to the left each subsequent night. When one lights the Hanukah, he lights from left to right, meaning, the newest candle first.
