Happy 78th Birthday to Leonard Cohen! Cohen, a nice Jewish boy, has drawn from Jewish religious and cultural imagery throughout his career. Unetaneh Tokef, an 11th-century liturgical poem recited during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, are echoed in his song “Who By Fire.”
Here’s the English translation:
On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed,
And on Yom Kippur it is sealed.
How many shall pass away and how many shall be born,
Who shall live and who shall die,
Who shall reach the end of his days and who shall not,
Who shall perish by water and who by fire,
Who by sword and who by wild beast…
And here’s Leonard Cohen’s “Who By Fire” (w/ special guest Sonny Rollins!)
