Limmud Bay Area 2016

How can our own falling, like the angels, teach us about our spiritual journey? Join this journey of falling angels to develop a deeper appreciation of Leonard Cohen’s embrace of this motif as human spiritual yearning. This session, based on my forthcoming book, Tangle of Matter & Ghost: Leonard Cohen’s Post-Secular Songbook of Mysticism(s) Jewish & Beyond, analyzes the lyrical poetry of Leonard Cohen, fusing sophisticated theory and popular culture with critical analysis that is lacking in most biographies about Cohen. How does this mystical maestro’s songbook illuminate questions of meaning making in a post-secular context? We will analyze Cohen's mysticism in relationship to Kabbalah, Hasidism and Rinzai Buddhism.