Ten years after his death, Leonard Cohen’s legacy as a modern-day Psalmist endures, cemented by his profound grappling with the divine. The Canadian poet, novelist, and singer-songwriter, who died Nov. 7, 2016, is remembered through tribute gatherings, family tours, and an analysis of his work as a form of prayer and liturgy that resonates across multiple faiths.
Adam Cohen, his son, reflects on this enduring connection, noting, “I happen to have inherited his body type and his voice, and when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I see him.” He is leading the “Everybody Knows Leonard Cohen: The Official 10th Anniversary Concert Celebration,” a family-led tribute combining performances with archival footage that began in Canada and will tour Europe in early 2027. For Adam, studying his father’s music word for word is “the closest thing to the grief that I remember of having lost him,” a process accompanied by “a kind of deliciousness and deep appreciation for the man.”
A Legacy of ‘Contemporary Psalms’
Cohen’s work is deeply infused with biblical allusions, with some pieces taking on the format of the poetic prayer known in Hebrew as tehillim, or Psalms. This is most explicit in his 1984 poetry collection, Book of Mercy, which publisher McClelland and Stewart called his “contemporary psalms.” The collection, written when Cohen turned 50, consists of 50 short, numbered poems that express lament, complaint, joy, doubt, adoration, and desperation. Cohen described it as “meant for people like myself who could use it, at a particular time,” and “a book of prayer.”
Cohen himself aspired to write more than poetry; he saw his work as liturgy. As Rabbi Mordecai Finley recalls, Cohen confided that he felt he was “always writing not just poetry, but liturgy.” His songs similarly echo Jewish liturgy, with “If It Be Your Will” echoing the Friday evening prayer service welcoming Shabbat, and “Who By Fire” being a nearly word-for-word arrangement of the High Holiday prayer “Unetaneh Tokef.”
A Spirit of Brokenness and Praise
This grappling with the divine is perhaps most evident in Cohen’s song “Hallelujah,” which became a worldwide hit. According to his friend and collaborator, producer Larry Klein, the song does not ask listeners to choose between brokenness and praise; rather, “it holds both.” Klein describes the song’s spirit as one of sadness, a reflection of Cohen’s view that the world and the human condition are products of a divine brokenness.
Cohen drew from a wellspring of religious knowledge. He was an ordained Rinzai Zen monk, the grandson of a famous rabbi, and deeply knowledgeable in Jewish texts, including Talmudic material, Midrashim, and Lurianic Kabbalah. He was also interested in the Sabbatean, subversive aspects of Judaism.
The Family’s Ongoing Connection
The Cohen family’s connection to his music remains a living process. Adam Cohen and his 19-year-old son, Cassius, have been working through Leonard’s songs in their Montreal home, a bittersweet way of reconnecting with the late artist. This family effort extends to the 10th-anniversary celebration, which features guest artists like Feist, Rufus Wainwright, and Serena Ryder.
Despite his father’s initial reservations about him following in his musical footsteps—a path Cohen once called “a racket, a cesspool”—Adam found validation by producing his father’s final album, 2016’s You Want It Darker. Reflecting on his father’s presence, Adam said, “He was molecularly charged in a way that was very palpable to anyone who came in his midst.”
