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The "E" is for "Esther": Madonna visiting a Kabbalist rabbi's grave in Jerusalem (AP)
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| By Associated Press October 10, 2005 |
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A song on Madonna's upcoming album dedicated to a Kabbalist rabbi is drawing criticism from some rabbis, the Israeli Maariv daily reported Sunday.
The album, "Confessions on a Dance Floor," is to be released on Nov. 15 and features a track entitled "Isaac" about Yitzhak Luria, a 16th century Jewish mystic and Kabbalah scholar.
Rabbis who oversee Luria's tomb and a seminary in the northern town of Safed are unimpressed with Madonna's musical tribute and see the inclusion of the song about Luria on the album as an attempt by the pop star to profit from his name.
Madonna made a much publicized visit to Israel in 2004, when she visited many sites important to Kabbalah, but she did not travel north to Luria's grave.
The singer and actress was raised a Roman Catholic but has become a follower of Kabbalah in recent years. Madonna has adopted the Hebrew name Esther, wears a red string around her wrist to ward off the "evil eye" and reportedly refuses to perform on the Jewish Sabbath. She is one of a group of non-Jewish celebrities who have taken an interest in Kabbalah in recent years.
The movement has sparked skepticism and criticism among many of the rabbis who specialize in studying and teaching Kabbalah. Jewish tradition holds that Kabbalah is so powerful and complicated that students may not begin to approach it until after age 40. Among the elements of Kabbalah are mystical meanings drawn from holy books by recombination of letters and other signs.
Rabbi Rafael Cohen, head of a seminary named after Luria, suggested Madonna's actions could lead to divine retribution.
"Jewish law forbids the use of the name of the holy rabbi for profit. Her act is just simply unacceptable and I can only sympathize for her because of the punishment that she is going to receive from the heavens," Cohen told Maariv.
Another rabbi called for Madonna to be thrown out of the community.
"Such a woman brings great sin on kabbalah," Rabbi Israel Deri told Maariv. "I hope that we will have the strength to prevent her from bringing sin upon the holiness of the Rabbi (Yitzhak Luria)."
Deri serves as deputy chair of the Religious Sites Authority, which oversees Luria's burial site in Safed. Neither Deri nor Cohen were available for comment on Sunday.
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