Sample Candlelighting Ceremony

Return to Bar/Bat Mitzvah Ideas and Primer for Interfaith Families.

Also see Sample Candlelighting Ceremony Introduction by Rabbi Peter Schweitzer.

I’d like to call up        , to light the first candle for Love--AHAVA.

May the light of love burn brightly within us all.

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I’d like to call up         to light the second candle for Community--KEHILLA.

We light this candle to symbolize the light of this congregation which invites others to share its message and joy.

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I’d like to call up         to light the third candle for Peace--SHALOM.

May the light of peace glow within our hearts, within our homes, and throughout the world.

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I’d like to call up         to light the fourth candle for Friendship--CHAVERIM.

We light this candle to give thanks for friends, old and new, close and far, who give strength, caring and fellowship to one another.

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I’d like to call up         to light the fifth candle for Making the World Better--TIKKUN OLAM.

With this candle we honor heroes and role models who contribute to making the world a better place for everyone.

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I’d like to call up         to light the sixth candle for Justice--TZEDEK.

This candle stands for fairness and equal opportunity and impartiality and equality for all.

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I’d like to call up         to light the seventh candle for Reason--BEENAH.

This candle is about rational thinking and science; about asking questions, having doubts and not taking things for granted.

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I’d like to call         to light the eighth candle for Charity--TZEDAKA.

This candle lights the way to helping others and causes that are in need of our assistance and support.

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I’d like to call up         to light the ninth candle for Joy--SIMCHA.

We light this candle to celebrate laughter and humor and the joy that comes from being alive and kvelling at each other’s simchas or times of happiness.

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I’d like to call up         to light the tenth candle for Wisdom--CHACHMA.

With this candle we honor all the teachers who have shared knowledge and wisdom with us.

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I’d like to call up         to light the eleventh candle for Memory--ZIKARON.

This candle is lit in memory of deceased relatives and friends who influenced our lives and whose memory we honor with our own good deeds.

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I’d like to call up my parents to light the twelfth candle for Family--MISHPACHA.

This candle is for everyone in our extended family, from coast to coast, who give us joy by sharing this day of celebration in our lives.

* * *

We would now like to call up bar/bat mitzvah to light the thirteenth candle for Hope--TIKVA.

This final candle symbolizes possibility. It stands for the future.

Of what she can become and who she will be.

Of how she can live a life of happiness and fulfillment.

Of how she can live out the values and teachings which she dedicates herself to today.

The Bar/Bat Mitzvah Ideas and Primer for Interfaith Families is also available as a PDF and Word document.