Posted on 10/09/2005 4:49:34 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
A song on Madonna's upcoming album dedicated to a Kabbalist rabbi is drawing criticism from other 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.
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 the newspaper.
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)."
Madonna spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment Sunday.
The singer and actress was raised a Roman Catholic but has become a follower of Kabbalah in recent years and adopted the Hebrew name Esther. She made a much publicized visit to Israel in 2004, when she visited many sites important to Kabbalah, but didn't travel to Luria's grave.
Another rabbi called for Madonna to be thrown out of the community.
There are those of us who have been trying this for years.
This should be an interesting story to follow.
I'd want to see a cite for that, from some traditional legal code, before I buy it. It sounds more like their sensibilities are ruffled ... which is reasonable, but different from "law forbids."
Yerouttayermind
Who's this Madonna? Wasn't there an irritating, mediocre pop singer a few years ago who used that name? Doesn't she know that the 15 minutes are up?
Bingo. To paraphrase Mark Steyn, there's no cost to being provocative to people who can't be provoked.
Another rabbi called for Madonna to be thrown out of the community.
How do you "throw" Madonna out of a community she's never been part of?
Madona, the famous hard-core porn queen, is not governed by Jeweish laws, she is not Jewish.
If the rabbis don't like her exhibitions they are free to stay away.
Madonna,
I lost like so many of her counter-parts Michael Jackson and al the other 80 pop-stars we long forgot about.
"How do you "throw" Madonna out of a community she's never been part of?"
***
Madonna shouldn't have changed her name to Esther, she should have changed it to George, as in Costanza...same type of annoying pest.
Both true statements.
She's only offending some of us.
I'm not a Madonna fan (preferring Sutherland myself) but any interest she genuinely expresses for traditional Judaism can hardly be bad.
Kol Yisrael Havarim ...
ML/NJ
LOL!
Give her time!
It took her a few decades to be run out of the USA!
When will she target Islam?
I'm not sure if she will. Although being the attention seeker that she is she may wish to have a fatwa issued against her and that will inspire her next song or children's book.
but any interest she genuinely expresses for traditional Judaism can hardly be bad.
It's just another phase she is going through-another reinvention of herself. But, hey, you can have her. I don't consider it a loss.
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