10 years after Leonard Cohen’s death, his songs grappling with faith live on

An academic analysis published via The Conversation argues that Leonard Cohen's songs and poetry function as contemporary psalms (tehillim), directly addressing God in lament, praise, and challenge. The piece highlights Cohen's 1984 collection 'Book of Mercy' and songs like 'Hallelujah' and 'You Want it Darker' as liturgical in structure, noting the singer's deep engagement with Jewish, Zen, and Christian traditions.

Ten years after Leonard Cohen's death on November 7, 2016, an academic analysis published via The Conversation argues that the singer's work functions as contemporary psalms (tehillim) in the Jewish tradition. The article, written by Matthew Robert Anderson, an adjunct professor at Concordia University, highlights Cohen's 1984 poetry collection 'Book of Mercy' as 50 numbered psalms of lament, complaint, joy, doubt, adoration and desperation. Songs like 'If It Be Your Will,' 'Who By Fire,' 'Anthem,' and 'Hallelujah' are described as echoing or directly adapting Jewish liturgy. The piece notes that Cohen was an ordained Rinzai Zen monk, the grandson of a rabbi, and a deeply knowledgeable Jew who moved comfortably between multiple religious traditions. His final album 'You Want it Darker' is presented as a direct address to God incorporating elements of the Jewish mourners' prayer. The article concludes that Cohen's grappling with the divine may be his most enduring memorial.