Leonard Cohen speaks about G-d consciousness and Judaism (1964)
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- Leonard Cohen speaks about G-d consciousness and Judaism. His profound statements still resonate, today, 50 years later.
Cohen had a life-long, passionate engagement with religious Judaism. It began with the hevruta (study pair) he had with his grandfather, an important rabbi and talmudist. In mid-life Cohen became renowned for his practice of Zen Bhuddism (a non theistic practice) and eventually became a bhuddist monk. But Cohen never stopped studying Torah or practicing mitzvoth that he found meaningful. Many of his best songs offer profound midrashim (homiletic interpretations) of Torah and apply them to the problems of life.
This article explores Cohen’s relationship with Judaism in-depth
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I have culled these comments from a recording of a seminar held at the Jewish Public Library of Montreal in June 1964 about being a Canadian Jewish writer (Cohen participated in a panel along with the great Canadian Jewish writers Melech Ravitch, Adele Wiseman and Ruth Wisse). It took place three years before Cohen's 1967 transition from being a Canadian poet to an internationally known singer-songwriter. You can listen to the entire recording here:
archive.org/de...
archive.org/de...
I miss his voice so much.
"That Cohen is brilliant is no revelation . . . That such a mind exist[ed] is hard to fathom, yet here's the proof. He's as funny as a great humorist, as wise as a scholar, and speaks in parables and poems almost as perfect as his songs. . . . Engrossing, entertaining, and endlessly inspirational." -- Paul Zollo
Miss you so much
I knew he became a monk for over 6 year, but this I did not know. Spoken like a Cohen! Thank you. I fully agree with the words.
He became a monk to attempt absolution from the crime of child abuse.
thank you so much for sharing x
Magnificent, he was a unique man, a prophet in our time, a man who was loved beyond belief and who will live beyond time 🇮🇪🇮🇪
Thanks for this 👍🏼
Shalom Leonard RIP
I have read Leonard Cohen's biography (by Sylvie Simmons "I'm Your Man"), in which she speaks of his time in a Buddhist monastery. I have also read that he delved into Scientology, but left it eventually. But he always retained his strong sense of his Jewish heritage. I am a late newcomer to Mr. Cohen's works. I recently saw his video giving his blessing to an audience in Israel on one of his visits in which he blessed them using the words of the Torah (in Numbers 6:24-26) in Hebrew. I love those verses and his love and respect for them came through in the blessing and was wonderfully received by those present. Elsewhere I read he was involved in freemasonry and possibly the occult. I found it hard to believe. Just from this video above and the blessing in Israel, I have such difficulty imagining this deeply spiritual man messing with the occult/satanism. He just seems too intelligent. I know he had a great struggle with depression and used drugs and alcohol, but was he, in fact, involved with freemasonry, or worse yet, the occult?? Many people of his time, especially in the entertainment world, dabbled in Scientology and maybe some with the occult, but I can't wrap my head around Mr. Cohen ever seriously taking up the occult or satanism. I would love to hear from anyone who knows from other sources about any ties he may have had to freemasonry or the occult. Ms. Simmons did not write about it in her biography of Mr. Cohen.
His music, unlike so much punk or hard rock/heavy metal, was at times hard to understand, but satanic or occult?? Maybe the secret is playing his records backwards? I just don't see/hear that in his music. His poetry and music can be dark at times, but I usually attribute that to his depression rather than any occult influence.
Friend, he speaks of dropping definitions. You are worried about the words Occult or Satanic. They are just words.
“There is a time when we must start discarding definitions… “ At the time Leonard spoke these words, I was young and would not have had a clue. Had I heard this then, I would have been spared some considerable conflict. The great truth to which he refers is that, upon definition, we limit the potential of our experience. Not only our emotional experience, but (and more importantly) our spiritual experience, as well. Definition effectively places our perception in a box, a prison on some cul-de-sac of consciousness. This is why poetry exists. It is a natural consequence of the form to refine the use of language in an economy of words that move, rather than declare. And, of course, Leonard was a master at this.
Your comment is very insightful. Thank you.
Food for thought!
Incredibly clear.
His voice sounds like Jerry Seinfeld's, the serious edition
He looks like Dustin Hoffman
Freakin genius
talking about Leonard Cohen would take pages. I think he was a good poet, an excellent singer, a fascinating man but above all a man who in another time could have been a scholar like his ancestors