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Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” brings a boomer back to Jewish prayer
Aging Jewishly – What our traditions teach us about growing old
By Rabbi Barbara Aiello
“That’s beautiful music. I love that song,” said Max as he poked his head into his friend, Evan’s, home office cum “man cave.” Max agreed and went on to say that of all the popular music he’s placed on his myriad electronic devices, Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” is his very favorite. “I love the man,” Evan said, and Max agreed, pointing out that the popular composer and singer was a “landsman,” a “MOT – Member of the Tribe,” Jewish, just like them.
Evan thought for a moment, then replied, “Cohen’s Jewish background could be why I identify with him as much as I do.” Indeed, Evan explained to Max that Mr. Cohen’s biography did not neglect his Jewish heritage. In fact, throughout his life, Cohen highlighted his Jewish background, beginning with his birth into an orthodox Jewish family in Quebec, Canada. His mother, Masha, was a Lithuanian Jew and daughter of a Talmudic scholar and his great grandfather was founder of the Canadian Jewish Congress.
Cohen’s Hebrew name was Eliezer, and, by that name, Leonard Cohen was called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah at Quebec’s Congregation Shaar Hashomayim — where he maintained membership throughout his life. Leonard Cohen knew he was a “Kohane” (of the Jewish priestly class) and he often said that his parents reminded him that he was a descendant of Aaron, the high priest of biblical fame.
Evan opined that Cohen’s Jewish heritage informed the song, “Hallejuah.” “In fact,” said Evan, “‘Hallelujah’ was based in part on Bible stories that featured King David, the author of many of the Psalms. When I found that out, I started reading the Psalms. Now I read them four or five times a week. Leonard Cohen brought me back to Jewish prayer,”
Max could hardly keep from smirking. He knew Evan well. They grew up together. They went to Hebrew school together. They had Bar
Mitzvahs the same year even though both of them thought the whole Bar Mitzvah thing kind of antiquated. “I remember how you told me that you only did your Bar Mitzvah for the money you got for gifts,” Max chided. “Now you’re praying? What gives?”
Evan took no offense at Max’s comments. Instead, he took the opportunity to share the how and why of his renewed Jewish observance.
Indeed, in sources like “My Jewish Learning,” we find that the Book of Psalms is unusual in its format, sometimes referred to as poetic prayers that derive from song. In fact, the word itself comes from the Greek, “psalmos,” that literally means “song accompanied by a stringed instrument.” In Hebrew, the word for “psalms” is tehillim, often translated as “songs of praise.”
For Evan, it was Cohen’s melody that drove him to explore the origin of “Hallelujah,” a journey that led him to learn more about the Psalms themselves. Although some musicologists believe that “Hallelujah” does not correspond to the traditional poetic format that characterize the Psalms, the song’s lyrics make reference to Bible stories, including David and Bathsheba and Samson and Delilah (“She tied you to a kitchen chair, She broke your throne, and she cut your hair, And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah.”).
Evan also found that while delving into many of the Bible’s 150 psalms, that, just like the Psalms themselves, Cohen’s “Hallelujah” lyrics explore the struggle between basic human desires and our desire for spirituality. That, and the fact that the word Hallelujah itself appears 24 times, each one found only in the Book of Psalms.”
“That’s why I like the Psalms and why I read one or two every morning,” Evan said.
“I’m drawn to them because they express everything we humans experience — joy, fear, gratitude, rage. If I’m feeling it, I find it in the Psalms. I see that I’m not alone.”
Not only Leonard Cohen but notables like Rabbi Akiva, Johann Sebastian Bach and Mother Teresa Cohen would agree, especially since each one spoke about their relationship with the Psalms’ gripping search for life’s meaning and purpose.
It’s my morning playlist,” Evan says. Thanks to Leonard Cohen, I feel closer to Judaism when I read the Psalms.”
For 10 years, Rabbi Barbara Aiello served the Aviva Campus for Senior Life (Sarasota, FL) as resident rabbi. Her most popular columns are now published in her new book, “Aging Jewishly,” available on Amazon books. Rabbi Barbara now lives and works in Italy, where she is rabbi of Italy’s first Reconstructionist synagogue. Contact her at Rabbi@ RabbiBarbara.com.
