"who by fire"

"And who by fire, who by water,
Who in the sunshine, who in the night-time,"
Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen's "who by fire" did not just originate in Leonard Cohen's mind. It is derived from the liturgy of the High Holy days of the Jewish calendar. Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur.

The Words are drawn from one of the most moving pieces in the service, Unetane Tokef. The title translates as "Let us tell how utterly holy this day is".

After telling how awesome is the day and how everyone passes through judgement, the poem continues

"On Rosh Hasahanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed how many will pass from the earth and how many shall be created; who will live and who will die; who will die at his predestined time and who before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by sword, who by beast, who by famine, who by thirst ...."

So all is decided at Rosh Hashanah with the opportunity to change before Yom Kippur. Now a little over two weeks.