Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen – A Journey, A Song

Doors open at 6:30pm

Documentary Screening and Discussion
in-person at Oakland Mills Interfaith Center
5885 Robert Oliver Place, Columbia

Please click here for registration information

Much has been made of the way the late Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen wrestled with faith. From songs like “Who By Fire” to “You Want it Darker,” critics and scholars paid close attention to how Cohen’s Jewish roots influenced his contemplative, often spiritual lyricism. 

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song is a definitive exploration of singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen as seen through the prism of his internationally renowned hymn, Hallelujah. This feature-length documentary weaves together three creative strands: The songwriter and his times. The song’s dramatic journey from record label reject to chart-topping hit. And moving testimonies from major recording artists for whom Hallelujah has become a personal touchtone.

Directors Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine take his famous single “Hallelujah” and use its rise in popularity over the years as a lens for looking at his entire discography, his Judaism and the way his songs still carry influence.
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Following the screening, join us for a Panel Discussion with:

Ruth Berkowitz MA (Moderator) is a Spiritual Psychologist and Wellbeing Coach who embraces a creative, contemplative life grounded in her Jewish roots, Buddhist meditation practice, and presence with the natural world. Film, comedy, music, dancing, and singing fuel her exploration of the human condition.

Cantor Linda Baer is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, visual artist, and occasional poet who has been singing the songs of Leonard Cohen since she was fourteen. Many decades later, she still may not understand some of Cohen’s songs, but she can ask good questions that lead to insights into their meaning, and into how Cohen conveyed that meaning.

David Glaser describes himself as a Jew-Bu, a Jewish Buddhist. He has been a student, practitioner, and teacher of meditation and prayer in both traditions since 1972, most recently Mussar, a Torah-based system of insight and character development. David has been playing guitar and singing folk songs since before his Bar Mitzvah in 1965.

Heléne Kass is a discerning movie goer, active Jew and Leonard Cohen fan. As a journal writer, poet, meditator, and Leadership Coach, she thrives in communities of curious, art loving, fellow travelers. Her soul is fed by living fully into her elderhood with song, dance, walks in nature and listening to others.