Leonard-cohen-essay-website

Charlie Wooley March 31, 2016 Leonard Cohen: A Modern Interpreter of the Talmud Leonard Cohen is an artist, poet, singer and activist who’s had an enormous impact on North American culture. Most notably, he’s a musician - one who seems to be constantly undergoing musical reinventions and rebirths. Yet there’s something about Cohen that seem timeless, almost mythical (Rohter 2009, 3). Although his music is equal parts dynamic and influential, there’s something that makes him and his music seem all too familiar. Since his 1967 debut, Songs of Leonard Cohen, Cohen has sounded like an ancient oracle who was transported straight from the Biblical times, blending ancient themes of holiness with bleak, spacious and simplistic musical production. His humility, skepticism and adaptability have made Cohen a consistently “modern” musician. As a Sabbath-observing Jew (Rohter 2009, 5; Wolfson 2011, 8), Cohen continually strives toward the Messianic age, doing his part to try to improve society. Yet he doesn’t approach his religion with blind faith – often taking time to question or even scorn God in the spirit of Judaism, specifically in the holiday of Shavuot. And by mixing timeless, identifiable themes with a Midrashian style of interpretation, Cohen has been able to both spread his Jewish values and appeal to a mainstream audience (Wolfson 2011). In this way, Cohen has provided a Christian-dominated North American society a template for the ideal modern Jew, teaching them about the importance of Jewish values. After blazing his way through McGill University in Canada as a published author and poet, Cohen was a promising young intellectual, hoping to make his

mark as a wordsmith. He began his singing career at the ripe age of eighteen with the country-folk band “The Buckskin Boys” , incorporating his poetic background in his songwriting (Kapica 1973, 37). He went on to expand his musical and intellectual palate, spending two years at graduate school (Colombia and McGill Universities) and publishing multiple novels and poetry anthologies. Even after gaining critically acclaim for multiple publications, Cohen became disappointed by his lack of commercial and financial success. Thus, in 1967, he moved to New York, quickly becoming associated with Andy Warhol, Nico and the blossoming bohemian Greenwich Village folk scene (Warhol 1980). Since his debut in the late sixties, Cohen has become well known for his impressive storytelling, minimalist production and often-politicized themes. And after a long and storied career as an author, musician and social activist, he’s gained a reputation as as one of North America’s finest musical storytellers, rivaled by only a handful of artists, most notably his contemporary Bob Dylan. Though a disappointing series of albums in the 1970s temporarily tarnished his reputation (Nelson 1993; Fitzgerald 2001), Cohen has reinvented himself as a scorned literary historian; a cynical poet appalled by the current state of the world. Even at eighty years old, he’s remained equal parts inventive and popular. All the while, he’s maintained the values of his Jewish roots, even while tiptoeing the line between sacred and sexual, skeptical and blasphemous. Though Cohen’s music is typically associated with political and social activism, it often has underlying themes of spirituality, specifically those of Judaism. The simplicity, humility and spirituality present in Cohen’s lyrics represent an

almost rabbinic, liturgical element, which leave listeners open to their own interpretation. While all music has a similar element of subjectivity, Cohen frequently includes Midrash-ian levels of interpretation (O’Neil 2015, 93). At times, it’s difficult to determine whether he’s talking about his human love for women or his more spiritual love for God; his support of pacifism or antiestablishmentarianism. It’s up for the listener to interpret and decide, based on their own personal experiences or spiritual erudition. In that way, Leonard Cohen is a speaker of the Bible, a prophet of the scriptures. A living, breathing interpreter of the Torah. Despite its seemingly simplistic nature, the music of Leonard Cohen can be interpreted many ways. Firstly, Cohen can be seen as an artist who has managed to revitalize the ancient genre of devotional poetry, which “used poetry and song to praise and express the soul’s longing for God” (O’Neil 2015, 91). For the most part, Cohen refrains from distracting the listeners with complex melodies or elaborate production techniques, opting instead to strum simple chords and arpeggios on his six string guitar. This simplistic folk approach forces listeners to focus on the message of the song, rather than a catchy hook, bridge or chorus (O’Neil 2015). In this way, Cohen makes his music divine, canonical and devotional. However, Cohen rarely makes his devotion toward God blunt or obvious, often using extended metaphors and allegories. This use of allegory both caters to a mostly secularized North America and lives out/representing Cohen’s Jewish roots. He echoes the ancient methods of kabbalah, a historical Jewish oral tradition, specifically in the song “Who By Fire” off 1974’s New Skin For the Old Cemetery

(Wolfson 2011, 101). Much like the Midrash, kabbalah is a form of Rabbinic interpretation, but it is much more ancient and complex. The term itself has many meanings, translating roughly to “reception, receipt, open, or receive” (Dan 2007, 1). A strong association with mysticism and theosophy has made the kabbalah a much more esoteric and bizarre study than Midrash (Scholem 2007, 587). And Cohen’s ability to incorporate allegorical and metaphorical topics is an interesting reflection of the ancient, esoteric tradition (Wolfson 2011). In many of his songs, for example, the famous “Suzanne”, it’s difficult to determine whether Cohen is more focused on praising the lord or reenacting the everyday pleasures of love. While it’s easy to see “Suzanne” as an allegory for a spiritual love for God, the message isn’t exactly hand-fed. It’s much like Lou Reed’s famous “Perfect Day”, for example. It’s easy to interpret “Perfect Day” as a metaphor for heroin – but only if you have the context. If you know anything about Lou Reed, it’s easy to draw the connection. But without context, it sounds like a simple love song rather than Reed’s struggles with his sexuality and heroin abuse. In the same way, if you have prior knowledge of Cohen’s Jewish roots or any experience with the Talmudic scripture, it’s simple to see how he connects the music to religion and spirituality. It’s an extended form of Midrash or kabbalah, which takes outside knowledge and patience to discover. It may not take seven years to listen to and interpret Cohen’s music but he’s created his own form of Talmudic scripture, which is available for the general public. In America, which is founded upon religious freedom and values the separation of church and state, it’s not so uncommon to hear religious themes shine

through in secularized forms of music. However, the religious themes in popular music are either: nondenominational (“God Only Knows”, “A Love Supreme”), Christian (Essentially any gospel-influenced genre) or surprisingly, Buddhist (The Grateful Dead, The Beatles) (Sylvan 2002, 69; 86-101). It’s rare to see such a focus on Judaism in a popular, mainstream North American society. The lyricism of Cohen and his entire demeanor certainly reflect an entire host of ancient religious traditions. There’s certainly some crossover between the world’s most popular religions. And he’s touched upon other religious themes, becoming a Buddhist monk (Levy 2012, 2; Wolfson 2011, 106) and briefly questioning the legitimacy of Scientology. In the nature of Sukkot and Jewish acceptance, Cohen has expanded to not only acknowledge his neighbors but embrace them and utilize their themes in his own music. It’s rare to see such a passion and devotion toward Judaism in the music world. That’s certainly not to say the Jewish people have a weak mentality, it’s more a statement about the flaws of Hollywood and the pressures of stardom and celebrity status. And it also certainly says something about the dominance of Christianity in our culture. Cohen has maintained a strong connection and loyalty to his Jewish roots, which is all too uncommon in the celebrity world. Fellow musical Jews Bob Dylan and Beck have converted to Christianity and Scientology respectively (Lubow 2005; Webb 2006). There arguably hasn’t been a Jewish artist who has had such an impact on music, while maintaining their religion, aside from the Beastie Boys. Even then, the Beastie Boys were essentially forced to maintain a

mostly nondenominational, Brooklyn flair to appeal to a wider audience (Stratton 2008, 3). Through Cohen’s unwavering humility, religious skepticism and dense lyricism, he has not only classified himself as a legendary musician and poet but also an accomplished, ideal representation of the modern Jew. He brings forth ideas of spirituality, which represent the ancient traditions of the kabbalah and the Midrash, allowing experienced listeners to interpret his works in their own advanced methods. By living a wholesome, yet skeptical Jewish life, Leonard Cohen has established himself as someone who strives continually toward the Messianic Age and reliving the Jewish experience of the Exodus. Though it may not be obvious at first, Cohen teaches us plenty about the modern Jewish experience.

Bibliography Dan, Joseph. Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2007. Fitzgerald, Judith. "Beautiful Loser, Beautiful Comeback." The National Post (Toronto, Ontario), March 24, 2001. Kapica, Jack. "The Trials of Leonard Cohen." The Montreal Gazette 25 Aug. 1973: 3738. Web. 27 Aug. 2016. Levy, Ariel. "Leonard Cohen's Zen Sensuality." The New Yorker, February 3, 2012. Lubow, Arthur. "Beck at a Certain Age." The New York Times, March 6, 2005. Nelson, Paul. "Death of a Ladies Man." Rolling Stone, October 28, 1993, 668th ed. O'Neil, Mary Anne. "Leonard Cohen, Singer of the Bible." Cross Currents 65.1 (2015): 91-99. Web. 27 Mar. 2016. Rohter, Larry. "On the Road, for Reasons Practical and Spiritual." The New York Times 4 Feb. 2009: C1. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. Scholem, Gershom, Jonathan Garb, and Moshe Idel. "Kabbalah." Encyclopaedia Judaica 11 (2007): 586-692. Accessed March 29, 2016. Siegel, Shefa. "Leonard Cohen As Irreverent Master of Prayer." Sojourners Magazine (2013). Web. 26 Mar. 2016. Stratton, Jon. "The Beastie Boys: Jews in Whiteface." Popular Music 27, no. 03 (October 2008): 413. Sylvan, Robin. Traces of the Spirit: The Religious Dimensions of Popular Music. New York: New York University Press, 2002. Warhol, Andy, and Pat Hackett. POPism: The Warhol '60s. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980. Webb, Stephen H. Dylan Redeemed: From Highway 61 to Saved. New York: Continuum, 2006. Wolfson, Elliot W. "New Jerusalem Glowing: Songs and Poems of Leonard Cohen in a Kabbalistic Key." New Jerusalem Glowing: Songs and Poems of Leonard Cohen in a Kabbalistic Key. 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.