How Jewish is Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah?’
A Forward investigation in 9 verses
Leonard Cohen
The Latest
-
Music -
Culture The Secret Jewish History Of U2
While U2 is still largely considered one of, if not the greatest rock band in the world, the group’s singer and frontman, Bono, is not quite the beloved figure he was when the band first exploded on the scene in the mid-1980s. His hobnobbing with world and corporate leaders is very un-rock ’n’ roll, and…
-
Culture Why Leonard Cohen’s final album features the cantor from his home synagogue
In January 2018, after the late Leonard Cohen received his last, but not final, Grammy nomination, a representative from his hometown attended the ceremony: The cantor from the synagogue he grew up in. He wasn’t just there as an observer — he was a contributor. “My greatest sources of pride is that the choir and…
-
Culture Jews plead, once again: Listen to the lyrics of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’
Another state occasion, another misuse of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Across the internet, fans of the poet are pleading: Stop the madness! On Jan. 19, 2021, before the reflecting pool by the Lincoln Memorial, gospel singer Yolanda Adams concluded a somber memorial to the over 400,000 Americans dead of Covid-19 with Cohen’s storied song of sex…
-
Culture A Happy 85th Birthday To Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen would have turned 85 today. Here’s how Ezra Glinter, a Forward editor and fellow Montreal native, profiled the master composer on the occasion of the artist’s 80th birthday in 2014. When I moved to Montreal in the summer of 2004 the city was about to experience two end-of-an-era events, though I knew nothing…
-
Food Leonard Cohen Invented His Own Cocktail. The Jewish Museum Gave It A Happy Hour.
The lobby of the Jewish Museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan hummed with energy and clinking ice cubes. Museum-goers formed huddles in the entry of the converted mansion — some visitors sat at tables, while others scoured books that are on sale in the museum’s store. Everyone was holding a blush-colored cocktail invented…
-
Culture Leonard Cohen’s Letters To His Muse Snagged $876,000 At Christie’s
Leonard Cohen’s letters, alongside other artifacts belonging to the late poet and songwriter’s one-time muse and lover Marianne Ihlen, have sold for $876,000 in an auction by Christies. Many of the items exceeded their initial asking prices. Among the auctioned items was a bronze bell that once adorned the wall of Cohen and Ihlen’s home…
-
Music In Leonard Cohen’s Letters, A Window Into His Life And Work
Leonard Cohen’s status as a musical and literary icon is a matter of historical record. But what the notoriously stoic poet and songwriter thought of his rise to fame remains more elusive; it was information shared only with a few intimates, Marianne Ihlen foremost among them. Over 50 letters that Cohen sent to Ihlen, his…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Holy Ground A Jewish farmer broke ground on a synagogue in an Illinois cornfield. His neighbors showed up to help.
- 2
Opinion Outrage over Nicholas Kristof’s op-ed on sexual assault of Palestinians is missing the point
- 3
Opinion I discovered anti-Zionism at the University of Michigan. I’m glad it lives on there
- 4
Opinion An alarming new battleground in campus fights over Israel
In Case You Missed It
-
Music He may be country music royalty, but his heart belongs to Leonard Cohen
-
News Amid Jerusalem’s Flag March, police remove activists aiding Palestinians
-
Opinion I run The Jewish Theological Seminary. Here’s the real story about President Isaac Herzog speaking at our commencement
-
Opinion Outrage over Nicholas Kristof’s op-ed on sexual assault of Palestinians is missing the point