Leonard Cohen Music Performed At The White House

From June 5, 2011  leonardcohenforum

A few weeks ago, I came across this tweet and became very excited that Leonard Cohen's music was being performed at the White House. When I linked to the White House website, the live streaming had ended.

Later on, there was available a You Tube upload with a partial clip by the "Maccabeats" a cappella group from Yeshiva University (YU) singing the Hebrew prayer, "Lecha Dodi" to the melody of Hallelujah,

US President Barack Obama held a reception in the White House in honor of American Jewish Heritage Month which pays tribute to the American Jews through the history of America that have helped form the fabric of American history, culture and society. The celebratory month was first proclaimed by President George Bush in 2006 as a way to recognize the community’s contributions to American culture. As part of the entertainment, the Maccabeats were invited to sing a couple of songs.

Maccabeats Biography from Facebook

Committed to the philosophy of Torah u-Madda, the integration of traditional and secular wisdom, the Maccabeats perform an eclectic array of Jewish, American, and Israeli songs. Their trademark piece, arranged by musical director Julian Horowitz, is the epitome of this synthesis, combining some of the most beloved words of Jewish liturgy - Lecha Dodi - with Leonard Cohen's meaningful and melodic Hallelujah.

There has been some mention that an official full length video of this song at the White House will be available. But for now, all we have is this abbreviated clip, which looks like a cell phone capture of the streaming.

* Buri Rosenberg and the Maccabeats @ the White House * (Lecha Dodi, 0-1.37)



Lecha Dodi
From the service welcoming the Sabbath

This prayer, composed by Rabbi Solomon Alkavetz in the holy city of Safed, welcomes in the Sabbath each Friday evening. The 16th-century Kabbalists used to go out of the synagogue towards the fields in order to welcome in the Sabbath Queen. This prayer is the pinnacle of that welcoming, sung with great vigor to new and old melodies every week. 

Come my beloved
to meet the bride,
Let us welcome the Sabbath.

A Sabbath of peace,
Blessed Sabbath...

Below is a full version of Lecha Dodi, "the Cohen Version" from a synagogue in Halifax, Nova Scotia with Cantor Ari Isenberg, who hails from Montreal.

* Lechah Dodi the Cohen Version *