Madonna is back in Israel. She came a few days ago to spend the Shavuot holiday receiving the Torah in the Holy Land, and now she is preparing for her upcoming concert on Thursday, kicking off her world tour.

I am no big fan of Madonna. I have not even listened to her music in maybe 18 or 20 or so years, and know none of her songs from these years. Though I did know some of her songs from her, and my, younger days, and I did followed her antics as she was a cutting edge performer always doing something crazy.

Despite my not being much of a fan, I do appreciate how she supports Israel, comes here, gives Israel a big boost as a premier spot, all when plenty of other headline performers choose to ban Israel at worst and ignore Israel at best. And her antics, especially with the kabala studies, are eyebrow-raising and curious.

Madonna spent much of the first days of her trip with her family visiting sites and graves in Safed (Tzfat) and Tiberias. I don't know if she dipped in the Ari's Mikveh, but she was planning to go to the Ari's grave.

Some have been planning to protest her arrival and her kabbalistic pursuits. According to Bechadrei, Rav Gavriel Hubara of the Yemenite community in Tzfat is upset, saying that she only visits these areas as a gimmick to attract attention around herself, and not for any true reason. This upsets the local religious and haredi communities.

Rabbi Hubara also complains that she insults her own study of kabbala by going to certain rabbonim for her research. Clearly a dig into and complaint about the Kabbalah Center and Rabbi Berg.

Others complained that she turns the kivrei tzadikim into something trendy.. Knowing they can't really do anything about it to prevent her from visiting, they will make do with a simple protest.

Plenty of people busy themselves with making visiting kivrei tzadikim "trendy", so this is nothing really new, and is really beneficial, even in a backhanded way. Maybe some Jews who might be otherwise unconnected or unaffiliated will find some connection.

I am not planning on defending Madonna, as there is a certain abrasiveness I feel when I hear of her involved in the Kabbalah and visiting the graves, but I don't see it as such a big deal. When they draw 500,000 people to Meron and Kever Rashbi on Lag B'Omer including criminals, politicians and celebrities all for public appearances sake (though how are we to really know what their true intentions are), or Rabbi Nachman's grave in Uman for the holidays, or the grave of the Rebbe of Shtefnesht before elections or whatever other place or kabbalist they go to, I don't see this as much of anything unique or problematic that needs to be singled out.

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What would you do with 500 bottles of water? What about 500 bottles of kabbala water?

Madonna/Esther - no longer the Material Girl

Reports have it that Madonna was recently in Berlin for a day, and upon locating a hotel to her liking, her people insisted that the hotel must renovate and paint her room or else she wont stay there.

From The Holy Scoop:

Her camp told the hotel that Madonna was going to be in town for one night and wanted to stay at the hotel, but she “doesn’t want to sleep where other people have slept.” Seriously. They actually said that.

“Madonna doesn’t like to sleep where other people have slept,” a hotel source told Closer magazine. “She needs all new things – a new bed, fresh paint, new lights. So we renovated the whole room. We have never had a request like this before.”

The total cost of renovating the room? £15,000! Keep in mind it probably cost the hotel more money to renovate the room than she actually paid for the room for the night.

And that’s not all. “We also had to provide 500 bottles of Kabbalah water [which is blessed by a rabbi] for Madonna and her entourage,” the source added. What the hell do you do with 500 bottles of water when you’re only in your room for one night?

She spent most of the day in and out of her room so unless she was showering with the water (I wouldn’t put it past her) there’s no way she could have gone through all of it.

What would you do with 500 bottles of kabbala water? Maybe she is making a business out of it and selling the bottles. Maybe she bathed in the water, or passed them out as gifts to the people in "her camp" for them to drink.

I never understood how people can be so picky and specific. I mean, one night in a hotel and she insists on them renovating and painting the room a specific way? With food I kind of get it - people are on special diets or certain foods are more agreeable with someone than other foods, they want something familiar and not have to worry about how their body might react to new foods when they have meetings and events to be part of. But to insist on a hotel room being painted a specific way for a one night stay? It says the renovations cost more than what she paid for the room - so they didnt even charge her for fulfilling her requests!

Madonna was accompanied in her visit by Rabbi Michael Berg, her own rabbi's brother, as well as her partner Jesus. At the site, she sang the Sabbath song "Lecha Dodi," ringing in with a kabbalistic tune.

From Haaretz's article about Madonna going to the kever of the Ari Hakadosh



(thanks to the astute reader who sent it in...)

Two leading Kabbalists have spoken up in regards to the current visit to Israel by Madonna, a.k.a. Esther, and the two concerts she will be performing while here. They each took a different approach in their statements.

Rav Batzri simply stated that Madonna is prohibited from performing her concerts, along with studying Torah and Kabala...

Kabbalah refers to spiritually deep understanding in Judaism, and even Jews are discouraged from studying it until they are deemed mature enough to handle the subject. Jewish law also forbids men from hearing a woman sing. Therefore, Madonna’s concert appearances in Israel are against Jewish law, said Rabbi Batzri, head of the Shalom Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

“No one can study Torah unless he or she is converting to Judaism," he explained to Arutz-7's Hebrew news site. Madonna’s ostensible plunge into Kabbalah several years has been widely condemned by Torah scholars. Rabbi Batzri said Sunday, however, “There is no connection between what the singer learns and true Kabbalah. The foundations of Kabbalah are the Tree of Life…that no one can learn without abstention.”

He added that learning Jewish mysticism is a spiritual path towards “practical Kabbalah” and that learning it means one must act against certain natural instincts. Madonna’s performances are stacked with sexual innuendoes; her private appearance for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, two years ago was met with disgust by rabbis and Jewish thinkers.

Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, rav of Tzfat (one of Madonna's prime targets for her visit because of the kabbalistic history associated with Tzfat), and Kabbalist, published a letter written to Madonna. In his letter he doesn't prohibit her from singing or visiting. Instead, he takes the approach of appealing to her to be considerate of the sensitivities of the Torah and Kabbala. He describes the goals of the Kabbala and says she clearly knows as well, and therefore it behooves her to be sensitive and be more modest and tzanua in her upcoming performances.

Madonna is coming to Israel for the yamim tovim again, and she has been plannign a concert, as she did last time she came.

The various Israeli media websites are talking about the possibility of Madonna (supposedly she is considering it and her agents like the idea) adding another concert to her schedule. The added concert would be in Jerusalem, in Sultan's Pools.

Considering the increasing frequency and violence of the hafganot in Jerusalem, as they get bolder as they see their violence "working", I wonder if we will see threats of violent hafganot if Barkat says he is bring Madonna to Jerusalem, and actual violent hafganot if he goes through with it.

Considering her expertise in kabbalah, perhaps Jerusalem is the most appropriate of places for her!

I would have no problem with her not having a concert in Jerusalem. But if they want to avert it, I prefer they would try doing so through diplomatic means and pressure the mayor politically, rather than with violent hafganot.