Farewell Madonna

By Shelomo Alfassa
May 22, 2004

We'll she is not coming, and we shouldn't miss her. Madonna was slated to perform a concert in Israel sometime near Rosh Hashanah. Her new concert, the "Reinvention Tour" was the subject of newspaper stories for months, ones which penned her as "brave" and other flattering adjectives because of her desire to travel to Israel. The singer has reportedly retreated due to the "political climate." Even so, the true reason of her canceling the Tel Aviv appearance might be the backlash from the Jewish community who realizes (unlike the media) that what Madonna practices is not kabbalah, nor Judaism-which is a prerequisite for kabbalah.

Along with her concert in Israel, Madonna desired to obtain a kabbalistic blessing from Israel's greatest Mekubal (kabbalist) Rav Yitzak Kaduri, something one would imagine the holy rabbi would never grant her. Both in Israel and abroad Madonna has received widespread criticism from rabbis and Jewish leaders for her kabbalah-like antics. Her perverse use of Jewish ritual items along with her bizarre mixture of Judaic and Catholic practices is an affront to Judaism. With the mainstream media not understanding what kabbalah really is, many news stories erroneously articulate Madonna now practices "the Jewish religion of kabbalah." She has become a missionary for the kabbalah religion, one which does not actually exist within the Jewish world-but does within the much confused Hollywood world.

Madonna's practices are an insult to Judaism. Her public interest for kabbalah and Judaicoid passions should not taken seriously, for this Roman Catholic who once said "Jesus was a kabbalist" is not Jewish and is not practicing kabbalah. Recently Madonna has been photographed leaving the Los Angeles Kabbalah Centre wearing shirts which say "Kabbalists Do it Better" as well as one with the Virgin Mary on it. Although she thinks she is a kabbalist, she is not, nor is she a teacher of Judaism. The example Madonna presents to young people is nothing to be proud of.

She recently declared she observes Shabbat (the Sabbath), observes ancient kabbalistic practices, and wears kabbalistic symbols. Her bizarre and perverted concepts of kabbalah have been nourished by The Kabbalah Centre which has been condemned by orthodox rabbinical personalities from the US to the UK and from Canada to South Africa. Rabbi Kaduri has said whoever supports that group, "financially or otherwise…is endangering his soul." This New Age religion of hers is based partially upon a business model which includes that of selling items such as "kabbalah inspired" books and holy "kabbalah water." Madonna obtained her ideas from the teachings of Philip Berg (formerly Feivel Gruberger). Berg is the one who operates the Kabbalah Centre. He is no Jewish scholar, no rabbi, and does not teach Judaism. What he teaches [sells] is high priced trendy Jewish-rooted cultisms, wrapped in the blanket of kabbalah. The Kabbalah Centre which has offices all over the world including Jerusalem, has been criticized by many mainstream orthodox rabbis as a cult, employs non-Jewish personnel to assist in services and conducts strange methods of prayer which are completely foreign to Judaism.

In one of her past videos, Madonna was filmed wrapping tefillin straps around her arm and squirming in an electric chair. Throughout the video, Madonna has a notably large tattoo of the letters Lamed, Aleph, Vav (a holy name of God) on her right forearm which somehow burn themselves into the chair, as her body disappears. Madonna continues to made a mockery of Judaism by performing this shocking spectacle on a live stage. Acting out the death scene for the audience, Madonna will appear in her underwear strapped into an electric chair, "writhing" to escape. When the lights come back up she will be "rising from the dead", singing Bedtime Story, which has been inspired by peculiar ideas she has developed, those she says come from kabbalistic inspiration.

According to the New York Post, her forthcoming show reportedly opens with a energetic Madonna simulating sex with a female tango dancer and when she sings "Papa Don't Preach," she'll be backed by a chorus line of scantily clad, obviously pregnant women. She has planned an outrageous combo act filled with gory images of people killed in Iraq along with a wild lesbian orgy. Madonna's last tour was filled with sexual overtones, sado-masochism and violence. In 1993, years before Madonna's passion for kabbalah developed, she played a concert in Tel Aviv for some 50,000 fans. While the crowd screamed, Madonna preformed a simulated orgy on stage, while her back up singers removed their tops. Proceedings such as this are an insult to moral people everywhere, and are inconsistent to the teachings of Judaism. Madonna's actions have no place in the Jewish world.

Madonna's tour would not have been politically neutral. For a long time she has possesed a pro-Arab stance, one which inevitably would have surfaced. Madonna has been "anti-war" since before the Iraqi liberation, and like most in Hollywood, believes Arabs should be entitled to a part of the Jewish homeland. Madonna has adopted the Hebrew name "Esther," and while she recently attended a Passover seder, she spoke of the "despicable living conditions of Palestinians in Gaza." Madonna is not a friend of the Jews. She does not support Israel and does not practice Torah Judaism. She is a supporter of Arab causes, and Arab causes include the destruction of Israel. She does not practice Judaism, but has fallen for the teaching of a cult center which teaches their own religion, one based on a few tenants of Judaism.

If the now-cancelled 2004 tour happened in Israel, it may have resulted in leading many young Jews into following her bizarre New Age religious practices; it may have even led to a boom in attendance at the cult-like Kabbalah Centre. A concert arena where decadent and homosexual acts are presented is no place for good Jews. Madonna's arrival in Israel would not have done anything to support the country in this time of war. Her concert would have been a morally wrong event, a sex filled escapade inconsistent with the values of the holy land. Is this what we wanted in the Eretz Israel?

 

 

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