Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on November 14, 2021

Leonard Cohen's beautiful verses from songs such as Hallelujah and You Want It Darker are deeply religious, and according to author Harry Freedman, they're just two of many where Cohen borrowed from ancient texts.

"Cohen grows up in this environment, and he breaks away from it around the age of 30, but before that, he has obtained for himselfa very strong, a very deep religious education and one that stays with him the rest of his life," said Harry Freedman, author of Leonard Cohen: The Mystical Roots of Genius.

In the book, Freedman took a deep dive into how Cohen used religion to make his music sing.

Freedman toldThe Sunday Magazine thatCohen grew up steeped in religion.The singer and songwriter was born in Quebec in 1934, and went to schoolin Montreal in the 1940s and 50s, and many members of his family were leaders in the Jewish community.

The book on Cohen's mystical roots isn't the first time Freedman has written about religion.He's studied and written books on the Talmud, the Kabbalah, and the Bible.

Freedman got the idea for this book one day when he was driving, and he heard Cohen's 1984 classicHallelujah on the radio. He'd heard it many times before, but never really focused on the lyrics.

But that time, something struck a chord with him.

"I heard him sing, 'I heard there was a secret chord that David played which pleased the Lord,' and a light went off in my head. I said, 'I know that, I know what he's talking about," said Freedman.

He says thewords of Hallelujah referto a Jewish legend, where King David of ancient Israel would play his harp for God. But that was just one of many religious references Freedman picked up on.

Later in the song, Cohen talks about when David sinnedby sleepingwith a married woman namedBathsheba.

"That's how I realized that Leonard Cohen is singing about something far more than just making up words for his songs," said Freedman.

"I started to listen more carefully, and I realized that nearly everything certainly a huge proportion of his music is based on religious legends, whether they are Jewish legends or Christian legends."

Freedman says it wasn't just his own Jewish faith that Cohen borrowed from. In his youth, Cohen would go to church with his nanny, so he learned a lot about the Catholic faith.

Hesays Cohen didn't find Judaism and Christianity at odds, but ratherwere working together. He considered Christianity to be the missionary arm of Judaism.

"In his songs, he morphs from one religious tradition to another without skipping a beat. He sees the two faiths as one, and I think that really comes across in his songIt Seemed the Better Way," said Freedman.

The song says, "Seemed the better way, when first I heard him speak, now it's much too late to turn the other cheek." It's from Cohen's final album You Want It Darker, released on Oct. 21, 2016, 17 days before his death.

"He's singing about how he was attracted to Christianity as a young man. It seemed the better way, but now it's too late to turn the other cheek. He's an old man by the time he sings this song."

It's far from the only song that channelsCohen's knowledge of the Christian faith.

"Suzanne is a song which is clearly about the church. He's singing about Jesus touching your perfect body with his mind," said Freedman.

In his 1992 song Anthem, Cohen borrowsfromKabbalah, a school of thought in Jewish mysticism.

The song includes one of Cohen's most famous lines:"There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in."

Freedman saidthat line is a reference to a kabbalisticlegend on how the Earth was createdand why it's imperfect.

"It's so evocative...."Leonard Cohen's music, which is so often dark and depressingthis [line] is his great optimism," he said.

In the eponymoussong of his final album,You Want It Darker, Cohen brings together references from multiple faiths, and submits before God as he nears the end of his life. He uses a line from a Jewish prayer, he talks about the crucifixion of Jesus, and he uses the Hebrew word hineni.

"Hineni is a Hebrew word. It occurs in the Bible. It only occurs very rarely, and it only occurs in moments of great drama and great tension, and it's a word of submission. It means'Here I am,'" said Freedman.

In the Bible's Old Testament, Moses uses the phrasewhen God talks to him through the burning bush, and Abraham says it when he's asked to sacrifice himself.

"Leonard Cohen is saying, 'Here I am. I've lived this life, I've done what I can.You, God,' he's saying,'seem to want it dark.' We don't know if it's a question or a statement. He's challenging God, but he's saying, 'Whatever you've done, hineni.Here I am,'"said Freedman.

Written by Philip Drost. Produced by Peter Mitton.

Here is the original post:

How Leonard Cohen's hits were influenced by Christianity and Judaism - CBC.ca

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