Leonard Cohen speaks about G-d consciousness and Judaism (1964)

Leonard Cohen speaks about G-d consciousness and Judaism. His profound statements still resonate, today, 50 years later.
Cohen had a life-long, passionate engagement with religious Judaism. It began with the hevruta (study pair) he had with his grandfather, an important rabbi and talmudist. In mid-life Cohen became renowned for his practice of Zen Bhuddism (a non theistic practice) and eventually became a bhuddist monk. But Cohen never stopped studying Torah or practicing mitzvoth that he found meaningful. Many of his best songs offer profound midrashim (homiletic interpretations) of Torah and apply them to the problems of life.

This article explores Cohen’s relationship with Judaism in-depth
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainm...

I have culled these comments from a recording of a seminar held at the Jewish Public Library of Montreal in June 1964 about being a Canadian Jewish writer (Cohen participated in a panel along with the great Canadian Jewish writers Melech Ravitch, Adele Wiseman and Ruth Wisse). It took place three years before Cohen's 1967 transition from being a Canadian poet to an internationally known singer-songwriter. You can listen to the entire recording here:

https://archive.org/details/Symposium...

https://archive.org/details/Symposium...