From Moses to Leonard Cohen: The unexpected dilemma at the heart of Jewish prayer

Leonard Cohen called If It Be Your Will "a sort of a prayer." In this episode of Madlik Disruptive Torah, Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz uncover just how deeply Jewish that prayer really is. Drawing on the words of Moses in Ha'azinu, the Psalms of David, the prayer of Hannah, and rabbinic debates in the Talmud and Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed, we explore how Cohen's haunting lyrics echo one of the most radical ideas in Jewish liturgy: that prayer itself requires God's permission.

From whispered lips to audacious praise, from silence as the highest form of worship to the chutzpah of demanding forgiveness, this episode connects the High Holidays' most prayer-rich moments to Cohen's timeless song. Was Cohen consciously channeling biblical and rabbinic texts he knew from childhood? We think the evidence is striking.

Join us as we show how If It Be Your Will isn't just a song—it's the continuation of a 3,000-year-old Jewish wrestling match with the meaning of prayer.

Key Takeaways

1. The Audacity of Prayer: We examine the chutzpah of addressing God and the need for "permission" to pray.
2. Silent Revolution: Hannah's innovation of praying silently and its impact on Jewish prayer traditions.
3. Words Matter: The power and peril of language in prayer, and why sometimes silence speaks loudest.

Timestamps

• [00:00:00 ] Opening reflection on Yom Kippur and the nature of prayer.
• [00:02:00 ] Deuteronomy 32—Moses asking permission to speak.
• [00:04:00 ] Psalms as a source: prayer from both mouth and heart.
• [00:06:00 ] Transition from singular to plural in liturgy.
• [00:10:00 ] Hannah's silent prayer as a model for Jewish prayer.
• [00:13:00 ] Out loud vs. silent prayer; Shema as an exception.
• [00:17:00 ] Can one pray all day? Talmudic debate.
• [00:20:00 ] Concluding prayers about words and their power.
• [00:23:00 ] The audacity of praising God—permission to pray.
• [00:28:00 ] Leonard Cohen's "If It Be Your Will" as modern midrash.

Links & Learnings

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Leonard Cohen - If It Be Your Will - https://youtu.be/SDemnguRYj4?si=7YGgCucKZ5-0fwFy