leonardcohenforum.com

Leonard Cohen was one of the most influential singers of his generation, with hits such as 'Hallelujah' which became classics. However, his funeral was a small affair which was conducted in secret.

Channel 12 News correspondent Sivan Rahav spoke to Rabbi Adam Scheier, the rabbi who conducted Cohen's funeral, three year's after Cohen's death at the age of 82.

"People found out on Thursday. So for those three days, as we made arrangements for the funeral, we made arrangements with the family, we were holding on to this precious and holy information, and I think in many ways allowed the family to give Leonard the Kavod Hamet (respect for the dead), that really only they could give," Rabbi Scheier said.

Cohen's family was influential in the Congregation Shaar Hashomayim of Montreal, which Rabbi Schneir now leads. His Judaism was infused into his songs.

"Mi ba-aish, mi ba-mayim (who by fire, who by water,) that he heard when he was a young boy, became part of his life, became part of his poetry and his own expression," the rrabi said. "His family will tell us that he never left Judaism."

He revealed that after Cohen passed away, his Hebrew name Eliezer was used on the documents used to bring him back to Montreal to protect his privacy and that of his family.

"It felt safer. It felt holy. It felt like we were able to be there for him, the man, and able to connect not to his fame, but to the little boy was who was saying kaddish for his father who he is now buried next to and who was so close to the generations of his family. That was very special, to feel like we were able to honor the person and not the reputation."

"The grief is equal to the love, so I know that I will grieve forever," she added. "But, as Leonard Cohen would say, 'We're all broken.'"

Throughout our interview, the songwriter's words were ever on Aftel's lips. As an ardent fan, she had once composed a perfume specially for Cohen, called Oud Luban. She mailed it to him, and he wrote back in gratitude. It was the beginning of a deep friendship that lasted for over twenty years. In Aftel's universe, Cohen represents an enduring grace that she feels "balances" the cruelty of her lost relationship. She quoted Cohen again: "None of us deserving the cruelty or the grace."

Painfully shy, Aftel would only interact with Cohen via correspondence. For two decades, she dodged his many invitations to meet. Only when he lay dying of leukemia did she relent. "He was just so kind and generous about me and my work," she remembered of their meeting. "I was so scared, I wanted to leave right away, but he said, 'I have a new song. Would you like to hear it?' I kept thinking, 'Don't start crying!' So, he played it for me, and it was unbelievable, and he just went on until he had played the whole album. And, I just don't have words for what a transcendent experience love is."

Before he died, Cohen requested to be buried with the perfume that Aftel had made for him.
The fragrance is built around the essence of Oud. At forty-four thousand dollars a pound, it is the most expensive ingredient in the world of perfume. Oud is extracted from the endangered agarwood. It only develops inside the diseased core of the tree. Fittingly, like the ambergris in Memento Mori, the scent of Oud is the scent of a wound.

After his death, Aftel worked with Cohen's family to prepare his funeral. "It's hard to believe any of this happened," the perfumer confided, "but I think it did." She brought incense burners and arranged them on the altar. As it has done since antiquity, the fragrant smoke undulated skyward, a thin thread seeking to unite us on earth with something above. For a long time after the service had ended, even after the burial itself, the fragrance remained.

The late Leonard Cohen liked her “Oud Luban” — based on an incense resin — so much that he kept a bottle in his car’s glove compartment, Aftel said.

B4real wrote: ↑Sun Feb 02, 2025 5:51 am I don't think this link with some info about LC's funeral has been posted here before so "Here It Is"...

B4real wrote: ↑Sun Feb 02, 2025 5:51 am I don't think this link with some info about LC's funeral has been posted here before so "Here It Is".
https://www.salon.com/2022/04/30/scent-of-love/

LisaLCFan wrote: ↑Sun Feb 02, 2025 6:59 pm That is really interesting, thank you!

vlcoats wrote: ↑Mon Feb 03, 2025 8:48 am Bev,

Curt said I might be interested in this, and he was right. Thank you for sharing a very interesting article.

bigdee wrote: ↑Tue Feb 04, 2025 5:18 am This was indeed interesting and lead me to do some research on Oud Luban. I found the website for the creator of it and they are listing 3 types of samples available to be shipped out for anyone who wants to give it a try. The samples are listing for USA Dollars at $8 each and shipping via UPS 3 day looks like it is running around $14. She lists other shipping methods but those are more money since they are for either 2 day or overnight shipping. Here is a link to the product page for those that many be interested in trying the samples.

https://www.aftelier.com/searchresults. ... mit=Submit