Image by Getty Images

By Dan Friedman November 11, 2016

Leonard Cohen passed away on November 7 at the age of 82, it was announced on November 10. His influence over half a century was phenomenal. He will be missed. Tributes are already pouring in, including tweets from Bette Midler, Mia Farrow and Marc Maron.

Leonard Cohen has died. Another magical voice stilled.

— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) November 11, 2016

Oh no!!! Best of the best This is awful https://t.co/3hDeuxwUQK

— mia farrow (@MiaFarrow) November 11, 2016

RIP Leonard Cohen. He got out just in time.

— marc maron (@marcmaron) November 11, 2016

Cohen’s recent album, “You Want It Darker” was hailed as a haunting masterpiece and, especially in the kaddish-like title song, a possible foreshadowing of his death (“I’m ready My Lord”), which now seems prescient.

Hailing from Montreal, he inspired several generations of songwriter poets and, in this beautiful long piece by our own Ezra Glinter, reinvented a perception of the metropolis of French Canada.

This recent version of “Hallelujah” by Daniel Kahn, in Yiddish, really highlights the beautiful, plaintive majesty of the original.

The date of Leonard Cohen’s death has been amended to reflect the fact that the announcement was on November 10, but he passed away on November 7.

Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief

You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.

And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.

That’s where you come in. Gifts of any size keep the Forward free and accessible to everyone and ensure we have the resources we need to power the Forward at this critical time for American Jews.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Will you support our work today?

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT