Leonard Cohen: The Singer Whom Israelis Called the 'Strange Jew'

The death of Leonard Cohen, the 82-year-old Canadian-American poet, songwriter, and singer, created deep sorrow for his fans around the world and mourned by Jews in Israel and beyond. Leonard Cohen passed away on Thursday night, November 10, at the age of 82 in Los Angeles, where he spent more than half of his life. The news of Leonard Cohen's eternal remembrance was significant enough for the President of Israel and his wife to issue a statement mourning his death, just as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his deep sorrow and that of the Canadian nation. According to Israeli media, Reuven Rivlin, the President of Israel, said, 'How sad it is to part from a person whose voice and face have been a part of the lives of several generations for so long.' Mr. Rivlin added, 'Leonard Cohen impacted the human world with a line from his notebooks more than any speech written and delivered by leaders, and as long as there is eternal love, he will remain in the heart of humanity.' The President of Israel also stated, 'Leonard Cohen never changed his entirely Jewish name and was always alongside Israel and the Jews, even during times of war and in the years of striving for prosperity, he stood by Israel.' Mr. Rivlin referred to the time in 1973 when Leonard Cohen sang for Israeli soldiers during that year's war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said on Friday that this great artist of our time was 'a warm Jew who loved the people and country of Israel.' Netanyahu also remarked, 'When he came to Israel during the war of the seventies to sing for our fighters, it was a mission for him to share in our fate.' The sorrow over Leonard Cohen's passing overshadowed the joy that was clearly seen in Israeli society following the announcement of Donald Trump's victory, and Israeli media dedicated hours of their programming on Friday, November 21, to Cohen's life. Leonard Cohen popularized words that are Jewish prayers, the most famous of which is 'Hallelujah'; 'Hallelujah' in Hebrew means 'Praise God.' Leonard Cohen himself said about this, 'He wanted to say that in any language you praise God, there is praise for God; all of them are good; all humans have a common value; no one is superior to another.' One of his team members from the past decade of concerts in a special program in memory of Leonard Cohen told Israel Radio that when he was outside of Los Angeles traveling for performances, he always chose foods that were in accordance with Jewish 'kosher' style. This team member added that when the artist performed Jewish rituals on stage, such as 'Kohanim Blessing,' some did not understand its meaning but were influenced by the spiritual atmosphere. This member of Cohen's concerts in the last decade told Israel Radio, 'Despite his tendency towards depression, which seems to be a completely Jewish trait that one should think about their misfortunes, he also had a unique humor like Woody Allen and other important Jewish comedians.' This assistant of Mr. Cohen said he would come in the mornings and, with his deep voice that had an even deeper rasp in the early hours, would say 'Good morning darling'; who was not affected by hearing this deep voice? This companion of Mr. Cohen in the last decade said he always had his notebook, where he wrote poetry, by his side; even among religious Jews who believe that one should not write on Saturdays to preserve the sanctity of 'Shabbat,' but no one dared to oppose him. He praised God in his own unique way, not in the style of rabbis. Cohen, who was a spiritual person, despite his deep beliefs in Judaism, was also a follower of Buddhism, and according to Haaretz newspaper, his different view of God took many Jews' breath away. Many Jews called him a 'strange Jew' but praised him, although they believed his open-mindedness stemmed from the opportunities that the liberal environment of his family and ancestral culture provided him. Leonard Cohen was born in 1934 in Westmount, the English-speaking part of Quebec, Canada, to a middle-class Jewish family. His mother, Marsha (or Masha, as the Russians say), was the daughter of a 'Talmudic' writer from the lineage of Lithuanian rabbis. It was said that Leonard's love for writing also stemmed from this ancestral love. However, his family originally came from Polish Jews who immigrated to Canada due to the intensification of anti-Semitism in those lands and founded the Canadian Jewish Congress. His interest in dark suits and a special hat he wore was due to his father's profession. Mr. Nathan Cohen had a tailoring and suit-selling shop; when Leonard was only 9 years old, he lost his father. Religious and devout Jews, if they do not wear a yarmulke, wear a black hat resembling a shapo. Jews say that one of Leonard Cohen's interests in these hats was due to the Jewish family culture and upbringing, where his father and all male relatives wore this hat. He also learned strictness and discipline from his Russian Jewish mother. He told Israeli media, 'My bond with Judaism and Israel is unbreakable.' His last name 'Cohen' indicated the lineage of Aaron, one of the Jewish prophets; Cohen among Jews is like a prince, a characteristic that brings strictness and limitations for the sons of a Cohen family. However, he described himself this way: 'A Jew, but not with the feeling that others belittle you, a monk in blood, a writer, a smoker, and a dreamer who imagines embracing many women.' Although he was a 'Cohen' Jew and if he were religious he could not associate with non-Jewish women, he embraced many non-Jewish loves, and his romantic failures were considered one of the reasons for the depth of his sad voice and poetic life. He never married, and the women in his life forgave his romantic pursuits. Despite his old age, while he had to return to the stage at seventy due to financial fraud by his accountant, who was also his lover, he still remained attractive to much younger women.