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To All:
In time for the Hebrew High Holidays I finally located the prayer that inspired "Who by Fire." The melody is chanted, rather than sung and seems to be improvised differently by different cantors so we see that the "Who by Fire" melody is Leonard's own creation. The words of "B'rosh Hashono" have been translated on the back of an LP entitled "Kol Nidre Service/ Richard Tucker" Columbia Odyssey Y35207 as follows:
"On New Year's Day the decree is inscribed and on the Day of Atonement it is sealed; how many shall pass away and how many shall be born; who shall live and who shall die; who shall attain the measure of a man's days and who shall not attain it; who shall perish by fire and who by water; who by sword and who by beast; who by hunger and who by thirst; who by earthquake and who by plague; who by strangling and who by stoning; who shall have rest and who shall go wandering; who shall be tranquil and who shall be disturbed; who shall be at ease and who shall be afflicted; who shall become poor and who shall wax rich; who shall be brought low and who shall be exalted. "
Pretty scary and definitely in need of an update as there's not that much stoning or death by beasts these days. We also see that Cohen, typically, leaves a mystery with the repetition of the question "who shall I say is calling?" while the ancient prayer pretty well spells it out. Another difference, Cohen implies blame as in " who for his greed and who for his hunger" while the ritual prayer does no such thing.
May you all be inscribed in the Book of Life for another year.

Thanks for that Lighting "Who by Fire" is my favourite Cohen song.

A beautiful way of saying you don't know what is round the corner.

very nice Kush. unlike Paula, i don't like this song very much, but still... nice to know more of it's origin.

thanx.

Thanks, Lightning. It's great to be able to read the prayer itself. Super timing! Your comments appear true, as well.

Jurica ~ You may want to thank Lightning rather than Kush .

bah! why did i thank Kush!?!? i even remember THINKING it was Kush's post... very strange.

thanx Lightning.

It is , indeed, a prayer read in Rosh Ha-Shana and Yom Kippur.
It is called : "Unetana Tokef" .

hey, thanks so much for that post.its very interesting to see where cohens inspiration came from, and it is a very haunting prayer as well. beautifull in its simplicity of accepting things as they come. reminds me of that bit in the Bible about how everything has a season.
also, thanks for that bit on the repetion of "and who shall i say is calling?" i always think that it would be a good answer phone message!oh the shame!
jemima

Today, while driving at lunch to get do some tasks, I listened to the ending of a segment on a large-scale marijuana grower/cocaine drug dealer, and how after hiding out in the mountains for a long time [having escaped a crackdown], was eventually found by another, larger, underworld figure. He was placed on the edge of a cliff with a gun to his head, being commanded to reveal the name of a person integrally related to his operation. He had an epiphany that the legacy of drug dealer was not how he wanted to leave the earth; and that all of this was not worth dying for. As he was increasingly threatened [despite his attempts to evade the direct answer they were seeking], he finally revealed his source. He said all the things that one imagines about facing their death bravely were simply not true for him; that he was scared. He ended up being safely released, and turned his life around. At the end of the segment, they played Leonard singing an entire verse of "Who By Fire." I love these unexpected moments in my life.

~ Elizabeth