Material Girl immerses herself in Jewish mysticism
Madonna, the original Material Girl, immersed herself in the spiritual teachings of the ancient Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah on the first full day of a controversial visit to Israel.
Sitting in the front row among fellow Kabbalists at an upmarket hotel in Tel Aviv, a surprisingly self-effacing Madonna listened attentively to a lecture delivered by her spiritual teacher, Eitan Yardeni.
“Past and present are interconnected, the personal and global as well,” said her Israeli guru, speaking in English with simultaneous translations appearing on large wall screens in Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish.
In a reference to the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, Yardeni stressed the “interconnection of all events,” as he went on talking about the concept of awareness, “the light of the creator.”
Reporters could only catch a quick glimpse of the American superstar, sporting a black sweater and checkered, multi-colored hat. Her British film-maker husband Guy Ritchie, clad in white, was spotted in the men’s section of the conference hall.
The meeting room had been converted into a synagogue for the event with men and women segragated from each other.
Organizers from the Kabbalah Center explained that an all-white dress code had been imposed on religious grounds, as the seminar coincided with the Jewish new year.
Even so, most women opted for colorful clothes.
The presence of the world-famous couple, also accompanied by US fashion designer Donna Karan, did not seem to cause much stir in the attentive audience despite heavy security in and outside the hotel.
Participants, mostly Jews from North and Latin America, told AFP they welcomed Madonna‘s visit and her embrace of the Kabbalah.
One seemingly incongruous guest, local Muslim leader Abdelsalam Manasra, said he had been invited by the Kabbalah Center to “attend the retreat in the spirit of religious coexistence and peace”.
“Kabbalah, like Sufism, celebrates love and the respect of God,” he said, referring to what he described as Islam’s equivalent of Kabbalah.
“We appreciate the visit of Madonna who is also a spiritual person besides being a singer,” added Manasra, who hails from Nazareth, in northern Israel.
Outside the packed hotel, a young and scantily dressed Israeli woman burst into famous Madonna’s songs from the 1980s.
“I am the young Madonna,” 23-year-old platinum blonde Orit Naor said after a rendition of Madonna’s 1984 hit “Like a Virgin.”
While hardly following her idol into her new-found Kabbalah craze, Naor said she hoped to meet Madonna, and had sent her a letter and video of her impersonating act.
Madonna’s visit has been welcomed by the Israeli government, desperate to attact big-name celebrities who have otherwise stayed away over security fears during the course of the four-year Palestinian uprising.
However, her embrace of Kaballah has upset some traditionalists.
Religious scholars have pointed out that the version as practiced by Madonna – with its focus on “inner peace, financial prosperity, power and pleasure” – is a far cry from the Orthodox spirituality prescribed by the sages of old.
And although Madonna will speak at an event bringing Palestinian and Israeli children together, peace activists have criticised her “insensitive” decision to visit the tomb of the biblical matriarch Rachel near Bethlehem, which has been cut off from neighbouring Jerusalem by Israel’s West Bank barrier.
An esoteric offshoot of Judaism, Kabbalah’s origins can be traced back to the 12th and 13th centuries when its central text, the Zohar, was penned.
Taught only to a select few – pious Jewish males over the age of 40 who have spent a lifetime immersed in the study of Hebrew texts – dedication to Kabbalah requires arduous meditation and a strictly ascetic lifestyle.
Source: Yahoo/Associated Press