The lyrics of Ba'nu Choshekh promulgate an idea of light vs. dark that has had horrifying repercussions throughout history. Here's a translation of the whole short song:

We come to banish darkness, in our hands light and fire. Each one of us a little light, but all together we are a mighty light. Get away darkness, begone black, flee before the light!

I know that no one who loves the song today or in the past – certainly not the Yemenite composer, Sara Levi-Tanai – sings it with racist intentions. But structural racism is mostly not based on intentions. There's more to criticize in the song, as I discovered when I got a telescope and started doing amateur astronomy. So many people in the developed world can hardly see the stars, certainly not to the awe-inspiring depth that is revealed when one can see the Milky Way. The next year, I got involved in a campaign to stop the installation of LED street lights in Northampton that have sadly dimmed our view of the stars. That gave me three reasons to reject the imagery of Ba'nu Choshekh.

Fundamentally, the idea that somehow we are trying to defeat the dark on Chanukah is foolish. Darkness is essential to the warp and weave of this world, as much as light. In fact, the halakhah agrees: Chanukah candles are not kosher if their flames come together "like a torch" – they must be separated by darkness in order to fulfill the mitzvah. That is not an idle or meaningless rule. As I wrote, "No one sits in front of the menorah thinking, 'I can’t wait for these candles to grow so bright that there’s no more darkness.' Darkness is the condition that makes the candles beautiful and sweet." We are planting seeds of light with the small flames of our lit wicks, seeds that grow in the soil of darkness.

People have written a few new versions of Ba'nu Choshekh in response to these problems. I like my full rewrite best, but I'll share three versions here. The second one, from Rabbi Jill Hammer, is especially useful because it only changes four words. I have also laid out the first two, four to a sheet, in PDF format, so you can easily download, print, and share them. (They also match up back-to-back, if you want to teach both versions.)

1) First, here's the version on the pdf, which uses the verse I wrote plus the chorus from Rabbi Jill Hammer's version. This song is about responding to solstice and reflecting on the place of our fire within the natural world:

Hebrew transliteration:		Translation:		Hebrew:
Banu choshekh l'kadesh		We come to sanctify the dark,		בָּאנוּ חָשֵׁךְ לְקַדֵּשׁ
Kodem shemesh titchadesh		Before the sun renews its light		קוֹדֶם שֶׁמֶשׁ תִּתְחַדֵּשׁ
B’yadeinu or v’ner		In our hands, may light and flame		בְּיָדֵינוּ אוֹר וְנֵר
Leil kasalmah l’fa’er		Bejewel the tapestry of night.		לֵיל כַּשַּׂלְמָה לְפָאֵר
Gar’inim shel esh va-or		Seeds of fire and of light		גַּרְעִינִים שֶׁל אֵשׁ וָאוֹר
Bohakim mitokh hash’chor		Radiant within the night!		בּוֹהֲקִים מִתּוֹךְ הַשְׁחוֹר
Kumah choshekh aleh sh'chor		Come up darkness, rise up night,		קוּמָה חוֹשֶׁךְ עֲלֵה שְחוֹר
Kumah, likrat ha-or! (x2)		Come up, to greet the light!		קוּמָה לִקְרַאת הָאוֹר

Download Ba'nu Choshekh L'kadesh here, four to a page!

2) The next one, from Rabbi Jill Hammer with a tweak from me, transforms the meaning with only slight changes to the wording:

Banu choshekh l’kadesh B’yadeinu or va’esh Kol echad hu or katan V’khulanu or eitan		We’ve come to sanctify the dark, in our hands a little spark Each of us a tiny light, and together we’re so bright.		באנו חושך לְקַדֵּש בידינו אור ואש כל אחד הוא אור קטן וכולנו אור איתן
Kumah choshekh aleh sh'chor		Come up darkness, rise up night,		קוּמָה חוֹשֶׁךְ עֲלֵה שְחוֹר
Kumah, likrat ha-or! (x2)		Come up, to greet the light!		קוּמָה לִקְרַאת הָאוֹר

3) The third version comes from the website Nashimahut. Note: this is an all-Hebrew site, and the translation (by me) is literal rather than singable:

Banu choshekh l'kabeil		We come to receive darkness,		באנו חושך לקבל
b'tokheinu or vatsel		within us light and shadow,		בתוכנו אור וצל
Kol achat hi or gadol		each one is a great light		כל אחת היא אור גדול
mit'rachev l'khol yakhol		expanding to become all-powerful.		מתרחב לכל יכול
n'chabek et hash'chor		Let us embrace the black,		נחבק את השחור
na'atof oto ba'or		we will enfold it in light,		נעטוף אותו באור
ki mitokh hakhi hash'chor		for within the very blackness		כי מתוך הכי שחור
mitgaleh gar'in ha'or		seeds of light are revealed!		מתגלה גרעין האור

4) Lastly, here is a second version of the chorus that I wrote -- probably too complicated for most settings but still something I'd like to share:

Nish’talenu gar’in esh		We will plant the fire’s seed		נִשְׁתֳּלֶנּוּ גַּרְעִין אֵשׁ
Bad hachoshekh m’lapef		Held enwrapped in darkness’ weave		בַּד הַחוֹשֶׁךְ מְלַפֵּף