Origin of Cohen?

bigmac · Post by **bigmac** » Mon Dec 29, 2003 11:00 am

i am trying to find out where the Cohen´s are from originally, i know Leonard is born in Canada.

Have a nice day folks!

glyn · Post by **glyn** » Tue Dec 30, 2003 7:06 pm

Bigmac it's a bit of a broad question you are asking. the answer has to be the middle east, as we in the west call it. The area that Moses went wandering around with the tribes of Israel. Moses brother Aaron was a Levii and he was the first priest. In the modern synagogue when the Rabbi is looking for readers to come and read from the Torah he looks to see if there is a Cohen/Kohen in the place as they must be called first as they are traditionally priests, so I suppose they must be related all the way back to Levii.
Does that answer your question?

Joke: Did you know that Moses was the first person to wear a wig?
Because sometimes he was seen with aaron and sometimes he wasn't.

bigmac · Post by **bigmac** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 12:16 am

Hello Glyn, i am honored that you answered on my first post ever on this forum...

I am not looking that far away, i mean is Leonards father and grandfather also from Canada and from where and when they moved to Canada.

I like History and to know from where families are coming and so on, my family is from Finland but i am born in Sweden and have lived her since then.

I hope i have been clear with my question, if not the reply again...
Have a nice day!

BigMAC

Paula · Post by **Paula** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 1:36 am

Hi Bigmac. If you look a while ago in the comments and questions section under the title of "Parents" there is some good information there.

margaret · Post by **margaret** » Wed Dec 31, 2003 5:04 pm

Hi Bigmac,

Leonard's great grandfather, on his father's side, was Lazarus Cohen who emigrated to Canada in 1869 from what was then Lithuania. He was originally a rabbi himself but later became a businesman. This was a family tradition and he had a brother who became Chief Rabbi of Canada.

Leonard's mother was the daughter of another Rabbi, Soloman Klinitsky-Klein, who was also born is Lithuania and escaped the pogroms in Russia and eastern Europe, fleeing to England then Canada in 1923.

The above information is taken from an excellent biography by Ira B Nadel, titled "Various Positions, a life of Leonard Cohen", which is well researched and very readable.

glyn · Post by **glyn** » Thu Jan 01, 2004 2:23 am

That's really interesting Margaret. I must look out the book.
Did you know that Moses was the first person to ride a motorbike? The roar of his triumph could be heard throughout Israel!