Leonard, Lindsay and Erica visited Montreal this weekend. Erica was invited to a camp friend's Bat Mitzvah and Lindsay wanted to visit McGill University. Their school is on winter break and Leonard is also on a break. So the timing worked out beautifully.
I asked them to pass by Leonard Cohen's house if they had time. And they did.
They sent me photos from the front of Leonard Cohen's home on Rue Vallieres which is across the street from Parc du Portugal. They sent me the photos immediately. An instant treat.
Gosh, I love modern technology.
Here is a description from the Leonard Cohen Forum (written by Len Bierbrier)
Leonard's home is a rowhouse at 28 Vallieres. It is next to a Zen center, which is at the corner of the street down from St Laurent. St Laurent, called "The Main" used to be the bohemian (sic) center of Montreal.... the site of many well known strip clubs, Chinatown and fantastic restaurants (e.g.Moishes), but all that is changed now.
The "One Family" Choir of Bereaved Fathers (IsraelNationalTV)
NB. be sure to X the ad at the bottom of the YouTube screen so the English subtitles will be visible.
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The YouTube video link was included in the article below from:ARUTZ SHEVA 7
Meet the Bereaved Fathers' Choir
The Bereaved Fathers' Choir is a group of men who lost their children to terror or in IDFservice and who deal with the grief by singing.
By Elad Benari & Yoni Kempinski
First Publish: 9/8/2011,
The Bereaved Father’s Choir is made up of a group of bereaved fathers whose children fell during their military service or were killed in terrorist attacks.
The group members cope with bereavement by getting together and performing Israeli songs. They say that singing helps them to cope with the difficult loss. Arutz Sheva recently met up with this incredible group of individuals.
Moshe Har Melekh lost his son, Shuli, eight years ago. One day after marking his son’s yahrzeit (anniversary of death), he joined his choir friends for their weekly meeting.
“I think I get the strength to sing from my son,” Har Melekh said, explaining how he gathered the strength to sing one day after remembering his fallen son. “He was a happy man, he believed in life, he believed that you have to continue. He believed in the land of Israel and in Israel’s Torah so I think that our being here today is exactly what he would have wanted.”
Har Melekh said that despite the great losses the men feel, the songs they sing are not sad.
“I think the songs are happy,” he said. “We sing together for the future: for our children, for our grandchildren. I think that singing together gives hope to all of us.”
The choir has already released one album and will soon release a second one. The choir recently recorded a song with the IDF’s Chief Cantor, Lt.-Col. Shai Abramson and, as Har Melekh explained, “We are getting together with the IDF to say that we are here despite what happened to us. We hope that our loss was not for nothing.”
One choir member, Cantor Moshe Keinan who lost his son Avihu, recently released a single put to the tune of Jewish Canadian singer Leonard Cohen’s song, “Hallelujah.” The words Keinan sang, however, were completely different and reflected his own personal loss.
From my soul to my G-d, I call you I trust in You and shall not fear G-d is my strength and stronghold, and my song Open a gate of repentance for me And I will pass through it crying All souls shall praise G-d, halleluya
After so many years of commuting and ultimately living here, I finally went to the Marina del Rey area, a part of town I have been meaning to go to for ages. And it was a nice occasion to boot, because it was connected to Leonard Cohen.
Two of us LC forum fans met at "Shanghai Red's Restaurant" in Marina del Rey on Saturday for a wonderful champagne brunch to kick off the first Southern California "SoCal" Gathering of LC forum fans. Gazing upon the beautiful view of Marina del Rey, we talked about many things including of course, Leonard Cohen. Our brunch lasted almost three hours. (Hey, they kept refilling our champagne glasses.) We also took a stroll on the quaint boardwalk of "Fisherman's Village" and enjoyed sightings of white herons, pelicans and a seal. Ah, this is the life!
We plan to spread the word on the Leonard Cohen forum and hold more gatherings. At least when we talk amongst ourselves about our Leonard Cohen addiction, we are "normal."
Next time visitors come to LA, I will take them to Marina del Rey. It is such a lovely spot.
The Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles threw its annual Grammy bash to celebrate and showcase this year’s nominees from north of the 49th parallel. Leonard Cohen will be honoured on Saturday with a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy, which puts on the Grammys.
The 75-year-old Cohen, clad in his ever-present dark suit and fedora, made a brief appearance to say he was “deeply grateful” for his accolade.
“My great grandfather, Lazarus Cohen, came to Canada in 1869, to the county of Glengarry, a little town in Maberly,” the folk-rock icon said. “On this occasion, because of the great hospitality that was accorded my ancestor who came here over 140 years ago, I want to thank this country, Canada, for allowing us to live and work and flourish in a place that was different from all other places in the world. So I thank Canada for the opportunity that was given me to work and play and flourish.”
I remarked to my family doctor when I went for a flu shot, that I missed not having seasons here. He said, "We have climate, no seasons." Last week it was 105 degrees. Today it is 52 degrees. However, the landscape looks exactly the same - brilliant, blinding sunlight (try driving into that after 4 pm) clear blue skies and lush tropical greenery. So I bought a miniature pumpkin, propped it on my laptop, where I spend a lot of time, to remind me what season this is.
You may notice on my laptop screen, a clip of Leonard Cohen doing his Birkat Kohanim at his concert in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv on September 24. It was thrilling to watch him do this. Here are some links you may enjoy.
*Birkat Kohanim* * Birkat Kohanim * large screen closeup. cued to start at 8.0
Address to Israeli and Palestinian bereaved families (Baruch HaShem at 1,20)
On the Leonard Cohen forum,where, yes, I do spend a lot of time, someone asked if we are also blessed not being there in person, but viewing it online. Here is my response.
I have been thinking about your very important question for a number of days. I wanted to check this out with a Rabbi. As it happened -beshert, destiny -after Sukkot sevices, I was standing next to the Senior Rabbi in line at an outdoors Sukkot buffet lunch. He knew about Leonard Cohen's concert in Tel Aviv, and I asked him your question. Taking a typical Rabbinic approach, first he tells me a true story - but I could see his thoughts percolating as he told the story.
A Jewish man in the military was stationed way up in the isolated northern most region. He needed 10 Jewish men to say Kaddish for his father's Yahrzeit. He went online and asked a Chabad Rabbi if he could gather 10 Jewish men in a chat room would that be legal for a Minyan. The Chabad Rabbi answered, YES. But the question arises, what is a nice Jewish boy like you doing in the military in the isolated far north.
