Blog


About


Books

 Latest Post: Flash!

Agnostic
A Spirited Manifesto
Available April 4, 2016

   Who is the AT?   Books by LH
  • Agnostic

  • The First Muslim

  • After The Prophet

  • Jezebel

  • Mary

  • More from LH

     

“Who By Fire”

Posted September 13th, 2013 by Lesley Hazleton

Leonard Cohen’s take on a central Yom Kippur prayer (with thanks to Lilly Rivlin):

[youtube=http://youtu.be/EQTRX23EMNk]

Here’s the actual prayer:

On Rosh Hashanah it is written,
And on Yom Kippur it is sealed.
How many shall pass away and how many shall be born,
Who shall live and who shall die,
Who shall reach the end of his days and who shall not,
Who shall perish by water and who by fire,
Who by sword and who by wild beast,
Who by famine and who by thirst,
Who by earthquake and who by plague,
Who by strangulation and who by stoning,
Who shall have rest and who shall wander,
Who shall be at peace and who shall be pursued,
Who shall be at rest and who shall be tormented,
Who shall be exalted and who shall be brought low,
Who shall become rich and who shall be impoverished.

There’s a final line saying that “repentance, prayer and good deeds shall mitigate the severity of the decree.”  I prefer Cohen’s last line: “Who shall I say is calling?”

———————————————————————————————————————–

———————————————————————————————————————–

[Admin note — a bloggish bit of repentance:  Apologies to those of you who have seen ads on this site. I’ve just purchased the “no-ads upgrade.” If you still see ads, please let me know. — LH]

Share this post:  Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail
File under: existence, Judaism | Tagged: Tags: Leonard Cohen, life and death, Yom Kippur | 4 Comments
  1. Sheila Coltman says:
    September 13, 2013 at 7:33 pm

    Hello Lesley – thank you for this, we are going to hear Leonard Cohen in Auckland (NZ!) in December, wonderful.

  2. SiviPanda says:
    September 13, 2013 at 11:46 pm

    Didn’t know that this song is actually a prayer for Yom Kippur, interesting, especially today in Yom Kippur 🙂

  3. fatmakalkan says:
    September 14, 2013 at 6:23 am

    Beautiful prayer. Is it from Torah or teachings of prophet Moses PBUH?

    • Lesley Hazleton says:
      September 14, 2013 at 10:10 am

      Rabbinical — earliest known is 8th century AD, in Cairo, which makes it all the better that Cohen used an oud.

Yom Kippur 2012

Posted September 27th, 2012 by Lesley Hazleton

My way of observing Yom Kippur.  Somewhere near Mount Rainier:

Share this post:  Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail
File under: agnosticism, ecology, Judaism | Tagged: Tags: Lesley Hazleton, Yom Kippur | 2 Comments
  1. Talia Alvi says:
    September 27, 2012 at 3:33 pm

    the beauty and calmness of the water in the picture feels enough to wash one’s soul in

  2. Stab Greenberg says:
    October 12, 2012 at 4:11 am

    …

Order the Book

Available online from:
  • Amazon.com
  • Barnes & Noble
  • IndieBound
  • Powell's
Or from your favorite bookseller.

Tag Cloud

absurd agnosticism art atheism Christianity ecology existence feminism fundamentalism Islam Judaism light Middle East sanity science technology ugliness US politics war women

Recent Posts

  • Flash! September 1, 2019
  • “What’s Wrong With Dying?” February 9, 2017
  • The Poem That Stopped Me Crying December 30, 2016
  • Talking About Soul at TED December 5, 2016
  • ‘Healing’? No Way. November 10, 2016
  • Psychopath, Defined August 2, 2016
  • Lovely NYT Review of ‘Agnostic’! July 14, 2016
  • Playing With Stillness June 22, 2016
  • Inside Palestine June 20, 2016
  • Virtual Unreality June 6, 2016
  • The Free-Speech Challenge May 23, 2016
  • Category-Free April 20, 2016
  • Staring At The Void April 13, 2016
  • Sherlock And Me April 3, 2016
  • Hard-Wired? Really? March 22, 2016
  • A Quantum Novel March 9, 2016
  • This Pre-Order Thing March 4, 2016
  • The Agnostic Celebration February 29, 2016
  • The First Two Pages February 23, 2016
  • Two Thumbs-Up For “Agnostic” February 10, 2016
Skip to toolbar
  • About WordPress
    • WordPress.org
    • Documentation
    • Support Forums
    • Feedback