Um....let me just say that its interesting to me that a pop singer singing in Israel can be such a stir in a small country like Israel. Her presence made front page news on every newspaper and was talked about nonstop on Israeli TV (I was some Israeli TV to practice my Hebrew using the Internet). Here is some of what was mentioned in the media last week about Madonna being in Israel:
CBS News
The news company thought it was interesting that she decided to end her world tour there and mentioned how she has been studying kabbala for over a decade.
Arabs are livid at pop singer Madonna for wrapping herself with an Israeli flag at the end of her concert in Tel Aviv Wednesday night. A Youtube video of the moment was posted by a fan of Madonna finishing her second show Wednesday night by draping herself in an Israeli flag onstage. Hundreds of talkbacks on the Youtube site consisted of rabid anti-Israel comments, with many of the critics claiming to be from Arab countries or Palestinian Authority controlled areas. "Why do you not wrap yourself in a Palestinian flag, if you really stand for peace?," wrote one viewer of the video who said she was from Gaza, echoing the often less delicate comments of others who condemned the singer for not only performing in Israel, but also for holding the Jewish State's flag. Madonna also called Israel "the energy center of the world."
Quote from Rabbi Uzi Binenfeld of Orot Etzion Midrasha at Givat Washington College:"There is something here which is connected to addiction. It is true that the public consumes entertainment, but beyond the basic need to hear music and gather socially, this phenomenon of attending mass music shows is gaining ground in our [religious] public as well and this is a negative thing. This adulation is actually an escape from reality, it is a psychological way to get more than what you have, something more exciting. Everyone stands together and connects to a moment that is a very intense experience. We should be very wary of this because after the peak there is also a big fall and this is not the true way to live.”
Madonna Attraction To Kabbalah Might Lead Her to True Judaism.
Leading kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Batzri expressed sorrow that Israelis put out the red carpet for the non-Jewish star who dabbles in Kabbalah. Jewish law forbids men from hearing a woman sing. Therefore, Madonna’s concert appearances in Israel are against Jewish law, said Rabbi Batzri. Futhermoer, he mentions that “no one can study Torah unless he or she is converting to Judaism." Rabbi Batzri explained that the sordid lifestyle of many Hollywood stars makes them “naturally attracted to the holiness of Kabbalah” in order to find a purer way of life.
Madonna unsuccessfully tried to contact Rabbi Batzri several years ago while on a tour in Israel.
However, the rabbi also looked at the positive side of the trendy would-be Kabbalists. He said that even a cursory and surface look at Kabbalah gives people “energy for life” and that many non-observant Jews leave the institutes that capitalize on the trend. “They often then look for a true way to Judaism.”
Chief Rabbi Letter To Madonna: Respect Where You Are Working and Be Tznius
In a letter to Madonna, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the rabbi of Tzfat, asked her to respect the holy land and the holy places that she visits here by being modest.
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