"A Leonard Cohen Shabbat Service" Wilshire Blvd Temple 11/16

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bridger15
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"A Leonard Cohen Shabbat Service" Wilshire Blvd Temple 11/16

Post by bridger15 »

Image

I heard about the Leonard Cohen Shabbat Service shortly after I returned home from Leonard Cohen's Portland concert with the thrilling tour debut of Joan Of Arc, my sixth concert in 14 days. Even though all I wanted was to stay home and decompress, I just had to go to this Friday night service.

I was told that the turnout for a Friday night service usually numbers about 75 people.

The turnout that night for the Leonard Cohen Shabbat Service was closer to 250 people.

Placed on each chair were a prayer book and what was later referred to as a prayer package, five stapled sheets with the lyrics of eight Leonard Cohen songs.

1. Hallelujah (four verses)
2. If It Be Your Will
3 The Story Of Isaac
4. Show Me The Place
5. Who By Fire?
6. Whither Thou Goest
7. Anthem
8. Come Healing

Clergy leading the service:
Senior Rabbi Steve Leder
Cantor Don Gurney

Here are a few of my video clips from the hour plus service. (with permission)

Senior Rabbi Steve Leder begins the service
Rabbi Leder talks about how he discovered Leonard Cohen and how he was influenced by his writing. He references Leonard Cohen's poetry-The Spice-Box of Earth, Isaiah, A.M. Klein, Irving Layton, All There Is To Know About Adolf Eichmann.
http://youtu.be/4ngMgA_lE8g

THE STORY OF ISAAC / THE AKEDAH, The "Binding of Isaac"

Rabbi Leder introduces the Story of Isaac focusing on the sacrifice of children, touches on the current situation in Israel and slavery still existing in the world today. Cantor Gurney sang a quiet, chilling four verses of Story of Isaac.
http://youtu.be/DnGYWK7ztwQ

MI SHEBEIRACH /COME HEALING

Mi Shebeirach is a Jewish prayer for healing. It asks God who blessed our ancestors to bless and heal our loved ones. Video below includes the last few lines of the prayer and a few lines of Come Healing.
http://youtu.be/c6kFgRUQIqg

The Service closes with a spirited singalong

Closing the service,Cantor Don Gurney leads the congregation in singing Leonard Cohen's Halleljuah (partial clip)
http://youtu.be/3aYk1N9RTfE

At the conclusion of Hallelujah, Rabbi Steve Leder added the traditional, "Shabbat Shalom."
And when I arrived home, I saw that Joey Carenza had posted the UHTC Shabbat Shalom.
This was indeed a special Leonard Cohen Shabbat.
---Arlene
2009-San Diego|Los Ang|Nashville|St Louis|Kansas City|LVegas|San Jose
2010-Gothenburg|Berlin|Ghentx2|Oaklandx2|Portland|LVegasx2
2012-Austinx2|Denver|Los Ang|Seattle|Portland

Arlene's Leonard Cohen Scrapbook http://onboogiestreet.blogspot.com
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lizzytysh
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Re: "A Leonard Cohen Shabbat Service" Wilshire Blvd Temple 1

Post by lizzytysh »

This is precious and priceless, Arlene!
Thank you for going... and for capturing.
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."
~ Oscar Wilde
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mutti
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Re: "A Leonard Cohen Shabbat Service" Wilshire Blvd Temple 1

Post by mutti »

How beautiful and what a heartfelt service. I would have loved to attend. I am so glad you went Arlene and thank you for taking
the videos. Love it.
Leslie
1988 Vancouver
2009 Victoria/Seattle/Almost Red Rocks/Las Vegas/San Jose.
2010 Sligo x 2/Victoria/Vancouver/Portland/Las Vegas x 2.
2012 Austin x 2/Seattle/Vancouver/Montreal x 2.
2013 Oakland x 2/New York City x 2/Winnipeg...
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Susy
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Re: "A Leonard Cohen Shabbat Service" Wilshire Blvd Temple 1

Post by Susy »

Thank you so much for sharing , Arlene !!
Susy
honey604
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Re: "A Leonard Cohen Shabbat Service" Wilshire Blvd Temple 1

Post by honey604 »

What a wonderful service this must have been. Thank you for sharing, Arlene.

Six concerts in 14 days!! How I envy that!
John Etherington
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Re: "A Leonard Cohen Shabbat Service" Wilshire Blvd Temple 1

Post by John Etherington »

Sweet! I thought this might be fandom taken to the outer limits, but it was done in the right spirit...The Adolf Eichmann joke fell on deaf ears, but never mind...and I'm sure the "Come Healing Girls" gave it their best shot, even though they're unlikely to get the Webb Sisters job. I guess they could have slipped in "Tower of Song" ...especially the "I hear him coughing line"...also a reading from "Beautiful Losers" would not have gone amiss ("God is Alive..." not what you're thinking!). Anyway, at this rate, Leonard may still get the posthumous sainthood that I once prophesied. He's also got a ready-made religious album from the song selection that was chosen (maybe with "Billy Sunday" included as a bonus track!).
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bridger15
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Re: "A Leonard Cohen Shabbat Service" Wilshire Blvd Temple 1

Post by bridger15 »

I split Rabbi Leder's opening remarks into two parts intending to make a separate video when he talked about Leonard Cohen's ANTHEM.
Then I forgot to upload the second part. My apologies.
Here it is.

Rabbi Steve Leder begins the service (part 2) ANTHEM
Rabbi Leder quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay, Compensation - "There is a crack in everything that G_D has made". Leder says Leonard Cohen does G-D and Emerson one better, "There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in."
http://youtu.be/_pBAU1dSBhQ

---Arlene

"Compensation" (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
http://www.emersoncentral.com/compensation.htm
2009-San Diego|Los Ang|Nashville|St Louis|Kansas City|LVegas|San Jose
2010-Gothenburg|Berlin|Ghentx2|Oaklandx2|Portland|LVegasx2
2012-Austinx2|Denver|Los Ang|Seattle|Portland

Arlene's Leonard Cohen Scrapbook http://onboogiestreet.blogspot.com
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Joe Way
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Re: "A Leonard Cohen Shabbat Service" Wilshire Blvd Temple 1

Post by Joe Way »

Dear Arlene,
This is such a wonderful service and we're so glad to be able to watch it now. It is always a pleasure to see you in person and our brief time together in Austin is treasured. Since then, we have had the great pleasure of having dinner in Chicago with Doron Cohen, his lovely wife, Ada and their daughter. One of the things that I'm most grateful for from this forum is the opportunity to learn more about the Biblical basis of Leonard's work. As a boy who was raised Catholic, our interpretation of the "old" testament is as a prefiguring of the "new" testament. It is so good to be able to hear the Rabbi's talk about these things, but even more so, it is so wonderful to have friends like you and Doron Cohen who can place Leonard's work in its proper religious and historical perspective. As the great poet, Ezra Pound said about Walt Whitman-"Let there be commerce between us."

Just a brief note, that your hope for us will be experienced on Friday. Are there any words of advice from you?

Love,

Joe & Anne
"Say a prayer for the cowboy..."
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bridger15
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Re: "A Leonard Cohen Shabbat Service" Wilshire Blvd Temple 1

Post by bridger15 »

Thank you to everyone for your kind words. It really was a very special Shabbat service. After the sevice was over, while having refreshments, the Rabbi "debfriefed" me at length about how I discovered LC and how I got involved going to so many concerts...the subject for a future post.

Joe & Anne: So happy for you that you will be going to your second concert of this Old Ideas Tour in Chicago. I look forward to your report, especially if you notice anything different from the opening concert In October.

---Arlene
2009-San Diego|Los Ang|Nashville|St Louis|Kansas City|LVegas|San Jose
2010-Gothenburg|Berlin|Ghentx2|Oaklandx2|Portland|LVegasx2
2012-Austinx2|Denver|Los Ang|Seattle|Portland

Arlene's Leonard Cohen Scrapbook http://onboogiestreet.blogspot.com
Angel of Compassion
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Re: "A Leonard Cohen Shabbat Service" Wilshire Blvd Temple 1

Post by Angel of Compassion »

Wish I had been there! LC's biblical references always resonate for me. Maybe I should offer my extra ticket to the Detroit concert to Rabbi Leder. The countdown has begun!
honey604
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Re: "A Leonard Cohen Shabbat Service" Wilshire Blvd Temple 1

Post by honey604 »

What a wonderful service this must have been. Thank you for sharing, Arlene.
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