September 27, 2009 – Still more Leonard Cohen and Yom Kippur

A final note on Leonard Cohen: If you pray on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur you could not fail to identify “Venatana Tokef” the repeated reminder of the day of judgement, which includes the very poetic lines “who by fire.” They are a reminder of the tentativeness of the future and the helplessness of the individual in the face of their fate. Cohen’s addition of the standard “Who shall I say is calling?”
in this context alters the concept of the prayer. The question of the identity of the one who decides adds a sense of uncertainty to a litany which otherwise puts the individual in the hands of a clear and powerful divinity. That reflection of the modern dilemma makes all the difference.