Book of Mercy #20-24

[lizzytysh]

[ I see there's no mention at all of Einstein here .]

Actually, I'd prefer that Doron enlighten me and us on his additional thoughts on Roshi's throwing Leonard over the fence of the Torah, but in what direction... in or out?

Was this to suggest that Roshi felt/believed the Torah was a fence keeping Leonard from the truth? I don't think so... it doesn't seem like Roshi, who is all-embracing, to do something like that.

Or, could he mean that Roshi inadvertently and unintentionally did that, forcing Leonard to see and question his own religion, through having seen/examined it from the other side of the fence? If so, Leonard still didn't abandon his own.

Well, if Doron doesn't show up and explore his speculations soon, it seems we might as well go on to the next verse... we can always circle back. As it is now, we're getting lost in space .

As far as elements go, though, I haven't felt in mine, either, Mat. I'm more likely than not to fall silent here, again... so please go for it .


~ Lizzy

[mat james]

My Kingdom is not of this world.
I'll leave the posting of verses to you guys.

[jimbo]

hello mr Gog.You know who the great designer is.and where he dwells.

regards jimbo

[mat james]

hello mr Gog.You know who the great designer is.and where he dwells.

regards jimbo

That's true Jimbo,
I do.
Regards, Matj

[lizzytysh]

Okay, that last exchange did it for me ... and after five pages on two verses, unless we hear from Doron, I'm thinking that it's a wrap on 21.

So, here's #22 and maybe we can entice him back with it:

Book of Mercy ~ #22

Your cunning charlatan is trying to whip up a frisson of grace. He wants a free ride and a little on the side. He has hid his shame under a tired animal gleam, and he pretends to be full of health. He's working hard, dragging that donkey up Mount Moriah. And listen to the authentic muffled cry of his heart, so thoroughly documented and unattended. He has some pictures in his mind, they're all round and wet, very pressing, and he has his belt, he's going to give her what she wants. Bring a mirror, let him see the monkey struggling with the black tefillin straps. Where is she, Lord of Unity, where is the kind face, the midnight help, the autumn wedding, the wedding with no blood?

Well... I won't be saying much on this right away. With my understanding on Leonard's verses, even if it never gets to where it was going, it always takes awhile to soak in, to wherever it gets.

At first blush, this seems to me to be Leonard, a very tired Leonard, 'confessing' and labeling himself as someone who's, with a lack of total honesty, been trying to get all he can from this endeavour and exercise with G~d; yet, stressing how despite all that and his methods, his heart still genuinely cries out for absolution. He seems to be saying that he's acting quite apart from the way he's actually feeling; that he's putting up a front.

He's working hard, dragging that donkey up Mount Moriah.

That's a clear indication of some very difficult work. I wanted to say that it's also suggestive of some hard work against some stubbornness, as well, but I guess the reference would be mule rather than donkey. [He could have borrowed the concept and used the more poetic sounding "donkey" to make the same point; yet, Leonard is so exacting with his words, that I tend to back away from that interpretation.] Even so, donkeys are known to carry very heavy loads and going up a mountain would never be considered easy, even for a donkey. The significance of Mount Moriah itself, I would really like to hear about from Doron, from the perspective of Judaism.

" . . . and he has his belt" reminds me of Leonard's lyrics "I tighten up my belt, get ready for the struggle." He's mentioned monkey before, in his art poetry that was seen as part of the Toronto Glass production, and the reference included Jesus and how it can feel once you take him seriously, akin to a monkey on your back. It seemed to connote a pressing need for responsibility for one's own actions. I need to get the exactness of it, before I pursue that.

He seems to be expressing, again, his desire for unity with and support of a woman. The "wedding with no blood" means what? The wedding state, but absent the vows? I'm going to stop now, as I feel myself slipping behind with this.

It's interesting to me how it seems that Leonard knows he's working hard, but can never quite cross over into feeling legitimate with his efforts.

Doron? I hope he didn't leave on foot to find Simon. Anyone?


~ Lizzy

[blonde madonna]

Thank you for posting this Lizzy. I don't have a copy of BoM myself. This is what I have to start with.

God tells Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah.

"After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the ass; I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you."

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham said, "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together. When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.

God to Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah, in the city of Jebus, as recorded in Genesis 22.

Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."

And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

So Abraham called the name of that place The LORD will provide; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided." And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, "By myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice." So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.

There are motifs and themes being repeated here that amplify their meaning. I also need to think about it more.

[lizzytysh]

Well, see how being biblically well-versed can make such a huge difference ! Seems I could have figured out at least some of that on my own. Common sense or something. Oh, well. Thank you, Madonna. That really puts it in a much clearer and cohesive context. Please do think about it more and come back with your ideas.

I'm looking forward to it. When I get a chance, I'll look more closely, too, at the themes and motifs that you've mentioned being there. Thanks for putting all of that there!


~ Lizzy

[DBCohen]

I regret being away from the Forum for the most time in the past two weeks (except for a few short glimpses into what was going on, but without time enough to contribute to the discussion), and I’m afraid I’m going to be disconnected again until the end of the month, so before disappearing again I thought I’d introduce the next prayer, for us to ponder about while smoldering in the suffocating heat of August (and enviously thinking of all those good people down under).

I.22
Your cunning charlatan is trying to whip up a frisson of grace. He wants a free ride and a little on the side. He has hid his shame under a tired animal gleam, and pretends to be full of health. He’s working hard, dragging that donkey up Mount Moriah. And listen to the authentic muffled cry of his heart, so thoroughly documented and unattended. He has some pictures in his mind, they’re all round and wet, very pressing, and he has his belt, he’s going to give her what she wants. Bring a mirror, let him see the monkey struggling with the black tefillin straps. Where is she, Lord of Unity, where is the kind face, the midnight help, the autumn wedding, the wedding with no blood?

Once again, we have here the familiar self-deprecation, but as often is the case, not without humor. He is a charlatan and a pretender, sees himself as a monkey in the mirror while trying to be pious and pray, while, as always, still waiting for grace. I’ll add just a few more observations.

He’s working hard, dragging that donkey up Mount Moriah - Mount Moriah is “the place” where Abraham brought his son Isaac to be sacrificed (Genesis 22), and which was identified in later Jewish tradition with Temple Mount in Jerusalem. For LC the story of Isaac is an important metaphor, as we know from his famous song and from earlier hints in this book. Here he alludes to Abraham (already mentioned before in I.11 etc.), struggling up the mountain with his faith and his impossible task. The donkey is indeed mentioned in the original story when they leave home, but once they’ve reached the mountain it was left behinds with the servants, and it was Isaac who carried the woods for the sacrificial fire up the mountain.

Bring a mirror, let him see the monkey struggling with the black tefillin straps – Let me first take you back to I.2, when we found the monkey (actually it’s the ape there) for the first time, and had a long discussion about it. I quoted then a page from Death of a Lady’s Man, in which Roshi was likened to a monkey. I remembered it now because there too he was speaking about the mirror (“I visited him again after several disagreeable hours in the mirror. He hung from the branch again…”). However, here there is no doubt that the monkey is the speaker himself. The tefillin were alluded to before, in I.14; here is what I wrote there by way of explanation (and see also I.19):

Blessed are you who binds the arm to the heart, - This is an allusion to the Teffilin (phylacteries) which orthodox Jews put on their forehead and arm during the morning prayer on weekdays, based on the verse in Deuteronomy 11:18: “Therefore impress these My words upon your very heart: bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead”. The one for the hand is tied in the inside of the left arm, next to the heart (LC mentioned in the Kurzweil interview that he resumed this practice around the time BoM was written).

And finally, the last sentence, which is so Lenoardesque in its tempo and images, and which we can go on interpreting forever. I can guess what Mat will say about the identity of “she” here, and about the meaning of the whole sentence and prayer, but I’ll repeat myself once again in claiming that several non-exclusive interpretations are possible, including the soul in the mystical union, and the lover in the union of flash. The very last words - the wedding with no blood - reminded me of the title of the play by LC’s beloved source of inspiration, Federico Garcia Lorca, Blood Wedding. This may have been the source for this image, although other sources are clearly possible.

[DBCohen]

Well, shame on me.

I prepared my last posting off-line, and posted it without realizing that Lizzy had already introduced I.22. I guess I got used to the sad fact that nobody else is doing the introductions any more – to my regret! – and took it for granted that I have to do it myself again. I read the earlier postings a few days ago, but missed the ones posted yesterday. My sincere apologies. I’d blame the terrible heat again, and different other difficulties, but really, there is no excuse. At least, Lizzy, I am glad that we see eye to eye on this, and I hope I’ve also added a little to your introduction and to Madonna’s contribution.

I’ll still be in my usual place for the next two days or so, so if you wish to send a missile to chop off my head, you’ll find me grounded.

[lizzytysh]

AS Gomer Pyle used to say, "GAHhhhhhhhUuuuuuHhhhhhlllllllllLEEE!!!" [did I get that ?]... even if I'd BEEN upset with you, I wouldn't be able to sustain after an apology like that !! So, keep your head, Doron. We need it here! If you like, I can take on that responsibility of typing out the new verses, as they come along. I really don't mind and it gives me a chance to look at them a word at a time, in an obvious kind of way .

SUPER to see you back and sorry to hear your reappearance is so brief. But we'll muddle along without you, as needed. I meant to get my booklet from Glass's performance last night, but I went to bed early, unable to stay up another minute. That's regarding the monkey reference I made.

Your observations seem so spot on. I love LOVE the significance behind the tefillin straps in the Jewish tradition. It really is a 'struggle' to tie from such a position, too. The beauty of that, the cloth touching both areas and making the connection.

Your Lorca connection with "Blood Wedding" seems a high likelihood as being in Leonard's thinking when he wrote that line.

When I read all of these connections and the use that Leonard puts them to, in weaving them with his own experience, I get this body flush of deep appreciation for him as a writer. G~d, how I wish I had studied literature instead of criminal justice . Damellon commented elsewhere about not being well literature'd amongst the present company. Ha! Do I ever know THAT feeling. Oh well... next lifetime. Back to Leonard.

It's a very interesting distinction you've made regarding how far the donkey went up Mt. Moriah with Abraham and Isaac. So, with Leonard's struggling to pull the donkey up, is he likening his own experience to that belief in and need for 'self'-sacrifice, in a slightly less literal sense, by adjusting it just a bit?

Okay. I'm at work, so will read through all of what Madonna put here, conjunct yours, from home tonite. I can only stare intently at this screen for so long without looking highly suspect.

Great to have you back, Doron! You've clearly been missed .


~ Lizzy

[DBCohen]

Lizzy,

I’m glad to see that while Queen of Hearts you may be, you did not adopt her favorite line “off with his head!” Help with future verses will be appreciated, although I also find that typing them word by word makes for better incites.

And by the way, I haven’t been gone that long. Certainly compared with other people, who actually went AWOL. I do hope to keep up the discussion of BoM all the way to the end, even thought it doesn’t seem the happiest of projects anymore, with so many good people dropping out along the way. But there’s always hope that they’ll come back, I guess, at least some of them (Judith seems like a lost case, and I’m really sorry that she insisted on deleting all her former contributions).

There are certainly very serious overtones in this prayer, but I somehow feel that he introduces the donkey to rhyme with the monkey, and also adds the “tired animal” for good measures and for fun. Animal metaphors are very common in his writing, as we know.

Take care, and see you around.

[lizzytysh]

Hi Doron ~

Thanks for your kind words, Doron. See? Even if you had been in danger, you could've charmed your way out of it .

Yes, I know what you mean about participants here dropping by the wayside . However, I believe that Madonna is as committed as I am and Mat, too, so somehow... the four of us, if noone else, will see the project through. I think Manna could be in it with us, too... so that would make five. Yes, Judith's contributions were priceless, which also meant there was no price to be paid to keep them here .

Yes ~ “tired animal” easily could be a self-reference, the same as his reference earlier in the verse of "under a tired animal gleam," which when I read that, imagined Leonard somewhat animalistically with eyes glowing, as he took in the beauty of a woman... tired as he may be from the quest. But, perhaps, I deduce too much.

If you like, we can alternate on typing them out, as doing that really does [as you know ] somehow bring you closer .


~ Lizzy

[lizzytysh]

Finally! I found it in the Book of Longing booklet given out at the Glass performance... the monkey reference is in this poem, which he recited for the performance ~ really great humour and seriousness in this. I love it:

This Morning I Woke Up Again

This morning I woke up again
I thank my Lord for that
The world is such a pigpen
That I have to wear a hat

I love the Lord I praise the Lord
I do the Lord forgive
I hope I won't be sorry
For allowing Him to live

I know you like to get me drunk
And laugh at what I say
I'm very happy that you do
I'm thirsty every day

I'm angry with the angel
Who pinched me on the thigh
And made me fall in love
With every woman passing by

I know they are your sisters
Your daughters mothers wives
If I have left a woman out
Then I apologize

It's fun to run to heaven
When you're off the beaten track
The Lord is such a monkey when
You've got Him on your back

The Lord is such a monkey
He's such a woman too
Such a place of nothing
Such a face of you

May E crash into your temple [is that supposed to be "May He . . . "?]
And look out thru' your eyes
And make you fall in love
With everybody you despise


~ Leonard Cohen

~ Lizzy

[mat james]

DB Cohen : “I can guess what Mat will say about the identity of “she” here, and about the meaning of the whole sentence and prayer… including the soul in the mystical union, and the lover in the union of flash”

DB, am I so predictable or are you a convert?

“Your cunning charlatan is trying to whip up a frisson of grace. He wants a free ride and a little on the side.”

He, Leonard, admits that by the standards he sets himself (and by those standards of any other ill/schist ridden purist) he is a “charlatan”, a fake, a pretender and a sham. In other words, he is “human” and is not impressed with his humanity.

“dragging that donkey… of his heart, so thoroughly documented and unattended”

He has created his own personal sacred literature, his songs and poems and books that are tied to him like scripture;

… the black tefillin straps

The tefflin straps serve a purpose; to hold little leather boxes of sacred texts to the arm and to the forehead. This implies one’s actions (arms) and one’s thoughts (head) need to conform to/with scripture, but poor old Leonard can’t get the female treasures (“some pictures in his mind, they’re all round and wet” !!!) of the flesh out of his tormented, male mind. And he is having a laugh at himself, but not all humor is sweet to the taste.

“Bring a mirror, let him see the monkey struggling with the black tefillin straps. Where is she…? ”

This is a positive position he holds, one of observer with a distance. The Hindu seer may call this position “the dweller”, the place where we can look at ourselves and our silliness’s from a distance. I am sure his Zen friend would hold the position of "dweller", osmotically .

“Where is she, Lord of Unity, where is the kind face, the midnight help, the autumn wedding, the wedding with no blood?”

And yes DB Cohen, Leonard seems to be asking, “Where is my soul that longs for union (unity) with God? Aren’t I the one who longs for the Spiritual Marriage, the Mystic union that I and Solomon and Mat sing about?"
But all I(Leonard) can think of (some pictures in his mind, they’re all round and wet, very pressing) is, “ round and wet” !
T.ts and p.ssy !

Matj

[DBCohen]

Great stuff, Mat. A pleasure to read.