Brendan O’Regan
Leonard Cohen I’ve never been that much of a lover of Barbara Streisand’s music or acting but I have been a long-time fan of Leonard Cohen and have fond memories of seeing him perform in Dublin’s 3 Arena.
What connects them apart from music is their Jewish heritage and this was explored with Michael Comyn by historian Yanky Fachler on The Leap of Faith (RTÉ Radio 1) on Friday. Both were proud of this heritage – Fachler pointed out whimsically that Streisand changed neither name nor nose to get ahead in the entertainment industry though she was advised to do both!
Leonard Cohen didn’t change his name either and right to the end his Jewish heritage was important to him. For his last album before his death he got the cantor and choir from the synagogue in Montreal where he had his own bar mitzvah to sing on the title track You Want It Darker with its haunting refrain “I’m ready Lord”.
Allusions
Of course, Cohen’s influences and related allusions ranged far and wide from Judaism to Buddhism to Christianity – for example, he co-wrote the beautiful Song of Bernadette with Jennifer Warnes and duetted with her on the intriguing Joan of Arc.
Jewish heritage in Montreal also figured in a new series on BBC World Service, also on Friday. Former Lebanon hostage and journalist John McCarthy presented Reflections on Faith in a Global Crisis and one of those he interviewed was Miriam Camerini, a trainee rabbi from Italy who has been stranded in Canada during lockdown.
She said it was “not a happy experience” to be cut off from the rituals of her Faith, but it was also a time to learn new things and look to internal resources. She said times of crisis could lead to two reactions – either to close up or to open up to new life and certainly she favoured the latter.
Christian pastor Jessie Woods and his wife Jessica had parishes both in Arizona and across the border in Mexico and, like so many, they were learning to do streaming services online. They regarded the local church as “a gift of God to his people” and found Faith “a tremendous help” in the current crisis.
He also harked back to Jewish heritage, referencing the psalms and David’s cries of anxiety and frustration. John McCarthy remembered his own situation as a hostage in Lebanon and though he said he wasn’t then “someone of great Faith” regarded himself as lucky to have had a Bible as he found certain passages uplifting. Pastor Woods agreed and instanced psalm 23 – we heard a striking musical version of it from Jessi Colter (wife of the late country singer Waylon Jennings). I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she had released a whole album of the psalms set to music.
Like Miriam Camerini, Hindu novelist Amish Tripathi found himself stranded away from home, this time in London. He was conscious of the ups and downs of life and told of how, after being an atheist for a while, to the displeasure of his parents, he had come back to his religious faith when he was writing his first novel.
New series
Another new series started on BBC1 last Sunday. The first episode of Sunday Stories featured several personal stories to illustrate the theme of courage. They were previously broadcast items, gathered as an uplift in the present circumstances. Again Jewish heritage figured, this time in the story of Eli Apt, a 90-year-old Jewish man who escaped from Nazi Germany as a child on the Kindertransport. Now he was celebrating his blessings by doing a parachute jump for a Jewish charity.
The show didn’t avoid controversy as one item was a celebration of women’s ordination in the Anglican Church, including related protests, scenes of a female Vicar encouraging people to pray to God as ‘she’ and a fashion show highlighting stylish garb for female clerics.
We saw a young man, a reformed criminal, doing a theology degree and welcoming the idea of God as Father – helping to eradicate previous (presumably negative) relationships with fathers.
A young woman had gone from banking to Buddhism after a traumatic incident when, like John McCarthy, she was held hostage. Finally there was a story about encouraging young Asian children and their families to attend their local football matches without fearing racist abuse.
It was strange, even nostalgic, to see the crowded football stadium in pre-coronavirus days.
Pick of the Week
MESSIAH
EWTN, Saturday, May 16, 7 pm
New documentary series. In this episode, the story of Pentecost.
MASS
RTÉ1, Sunday, May 17, 11 am
Featuring a special acknowledgement of frontline healthcare workers, with Fr Damian O’Reilly, Chaplain in St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin.
SONGS OF PRAISE
BBC1, Sunday, May 17, 1.15 pm
Aled Jones [pictured] explores why, in times of trouble, Christian hymns can lift our hearts and soothe our souls. Includes a meeting with Catholic hymn writer Bernadette Farrell.