Leonard Cohen Blesses 50,000 in Israel

75-year-old Leonard Cohen, the Canadian singer/songwriter/poet/musician/novelist/philosopher, gave a long-awaited concert last month before a crowd of 50,000 in the Ramat Gan stadium, near Tel Aviv. Appearing in Israel for the first time in more than 20 years, he sang the same songs as he did in London, New York, and cities around the world during his international tour last year, but with special meaning to the Israeli audience.

Cohen insisted that the words to his songs be translated into Hebrew and projected on the giant screens flanking the concert stage, and they resonated with the largely Hebrew-speaking crowd.

Click the video below for a 7.5 minute performance of his signature song, Hallelujah, and below that, a two minute video of Cohen giving his fans Birkat Cohanim, the priestly blessing, at the end of the show.