May
22, 2004
We'll
she [Madonna]is not coming [to Israel], 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 Eretz Israel?
