Kabbalah hasn’t been kind to those close to Madonna lately.
First, Guy Ritchie made Revolver – a Kabbalah-inspired cockney gangster film so laughably bad that it makes Swept Away look like Paths Of Glory. And now Madonna herself annoyed a bunch of Rabbis for singing a funky Kabbalah song on her new album.
As far as celebrity trends go, Kabbalah has stuck around for a
pretty long time. As well as Madonna (CDs) and Guy Ritchie, Ashton Kutcher is
also a devout follower. He allegedly cost the producers of one of his
cock-awful movies thousands of dollars in digital manipulation after he
apparently refused to take off his red Kabbalah bracelet during the
shoot.
Britney "Is Hinduism like Kabbalah?" Spears also dabbled for a
while, but has lately distanced herself from the religion. As has Guy
Ritchie, who has blamed the utter failure of Revolver squarely on the
influence that Kabbalah had on him, prompting much anger from his wife.
But it might not be too long before Madonna joins Guy in the
anti-Kabbalah brigade. Her new album Confessions On A Dancefloor
includes a song called Isaac, which is all about Yitzhak Luria, a 16th
century Jewish mystic and Kabbalah scholar. And oh boy, the rabbis are pissed.
Making money by using the name of rabbis is frowned upon in Kabbalah
circles. And the song has probably knackered her chances of getting into
heaven, according to Rabbi Raphael Cohen:
"Jewish law forbids the use of the name of the holy rabbi for profit.
Her act is just simply unacceptable and I can only sympathise for her
because of the punishment that she is going to receive from the
heavens."
Madonna should be thrown out of the religion, adds Rabbi Israel Deri:
"Such a woman brings great sin on kabbalah. I hope that we will have the strength to prevent her from
bringing sin upon the holiness of the rabbi."
So
with followers dropping left, right and centre, and the most famous
exponent of the religion facing expulsion, where should celebrities go when the Kabbalah bubble bursts?
Scientology, baby.
Read more:
Some Rabbis Criticise New Madonna Song – ABC News
[story by Stuart Heritage]