Kabbalah, Madonna, and A-Rod
Monday July 7, 2008
This morning's papers including The New York Daily News, are filled with articles about Madonna, Kabbalah, The Kabbalah Center, and how they are effecting her relationship with baseball star, Alex Rodriguez. Among the charges being made, is that Madonna is...
Filed Under: a-rod, alex rodriguez, divorce, jewish mysticism, kabbalah, madonna, marriage, relationships, the kabbalah center
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About Windows & Doors
Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism. Listed as one of the nation’s 50 most influential rabbis in Newsweek, and a regular commentator on Court TV, he is the creator of the popular series, Building Bridges, airing on Bridges TV, and the co-host of the weekly radio show, Hirschfield and Kula. More About Brad
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I find it a shame that someone who I see as over the top (Madonna), as changing her style as often as the weather changes, should be associated with Kabbalah. To me, it cheapens Judaism in general and Kabbalah in particular, especially when it comes to the point where someone so public becomes disenchanted with it and then the public sees,"well, maybe Judaism and Kabbalah aren't so great after all."
I also feel bad for Cynthia. She has two kids by A-Rod and the marriage is ending, publicly. Not only do A-Rod and Cynthia divorce, they have to have their private pain splashed across tabloids, the evening news, and anywhere else people want to read about them. Smacks of schadenfreude to me.
The type of Kabbalah that the Christian celebrities practice is, Ihave been told by those who know about such things, changed and watered down and is mainly to make money for those who run the places where the celebrities go.
Therefore the last thing as a Jew I worry about is anyone who practices it making it seem other then what it is.
As for the celebs involved in this and other high profile scandals-
if you live in a glass house you should know to pull down the shades!!
Saying that non-Jews who involve themselves in Kabbalah cheapens Kabalah is like saying that non-religious people who involve themselves in learning about G-d cheapens G-d. Both are what they are. Neither can be cheapened by anything or anybody.
You are correct that the disdain shown by mainstream religious leaders is based in part on jealousy of the Kabbalah Center's, but there is more than one way to indicate whether a religious group is a cult. In the case of the Kabbalah Center, it is possible that the relationship between the Bergs and the money they make from the Center qualifies it as a cult. It is certainly legitimate for that relationship to cause well meaning religious leaders discomfort.
As to the Madonna- Alex Rodriguez business, I hasten to point out that all we know is based on gossip columnists and unsubstantiated rumors. So even if we think we have a business talking about their affairs, let's remember we don't really know what the hell we are talking about.
If it were some random (married) woman and some random (married) man, nobody would give a hoot about either of them OR the kabbala center.
I wonder if he'll adopt a new name .. maybe J-Rod, or using a Hebrew letter like "Hay-Rod"?
Why should anyone care about Madonna, her belief in Kabbala, or her relationship with Hay-Rod? We all have loads of issues to work out in our own lives. By paying attention to this stuff we're just listening to static rather than making our own spiritual progress. As if she would care about any of us enough to make blog postings about our lives...
With Madonna its all about finding an exposed nerve and hitting it with a twenty pound hammer (See the Like a Prayer video clip)
When she dated Dennis Rodman nobody cared. Yet it seems that baseball is so quintessentially American and associated with family values (playing catch with dad) that again she successfully hit an exposed nerve. Maybe the equation she deciphered is Baseball=>American=>Christian and should never lead to Kabala/Jewish.
She does an interesting service to Judaism by associating it with an icon of the mainstream of American culture. Being part of the main stream of culture is the one thing Jews aren't familiar with.
The last sentence in the blog about one focusing on his own loved ones is the real value added of this article. Looking at the life of others is just a form of escaping ones own life.
Nobody cared if she dated Rodman because neither one of them was MARRIED! And their reputations were fairly similar, if YKWIM. A-Rod and Madonna (currently) are married with children. Not the same thing at all. And are you saying that only CHRISTIANS are associated with "quintessentially American" values and past-times??????
Madonna is not Jewish. She was raised Catholic. I have no idea what she believes now. The Kabbalah Center isn't accepted by most Jews as being "real" Kabbalah. It's a kind of "lite" version for non-Jews. Particularly those who have money to spend.
She does NO service (or disservice for that matter) to Judaism because she's NOT JEWISH! We don't care what she does. And why would you possibly think that we're not part of mainstream culture???? I live in Texas, I eat BBQ, I drive a Ford, etc. What? I don't go to church or celebrate Christian holidays, so that makes me un-American????
Seriously, you need to meet some Jewish people. Wait...you probably already have but didn't realize it because we fit into the American mainstream culture just like you do!
Sheesh!
PP
honestly,i think to just brush this off with 'it could be any married man or women with children so what's the big deal' is astounding.breaking up any family is a big deal,if madonna exposes her spirituality so publicly she has a resposibility to honor it...i can hardly believe kabbala beliefs condone breaking up families...to brush all this off is a sad statement indeed...every family that is broken needs to do it's very best to heal and honor those chilren.family is a sacred honor,whether you inherit,adopt or give birth once this happens you are bound,to regard it as a passing 'no big deal' is, well in my book ,a sin.
Maybe Madonna saw this:
www.dovabramson.com/field_of_life
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