March 11, 2003
NOW THAT MADONNA'S JEWISH, DOES SHE HAVE TO CHANGE HER NAME? (via Drudge):
Madge strikes yoga pose (The Sun, 3/11/2003)Madonna added: “My real responsibility is to bring light to the world and make the world a better place.”...She claims following the Jewish mystic cult Kabbalah has taught her not to gossip or criticise others.
Madonna said: “If we truly believed that every act of denigrating somebody is a small form of murder — the negative energy you create by talking badly — we’d never do it again."
I didn't know the Kabbalah had become a New Age thing. Pretty soon, it'll be hip to be Hasid. Posted by Paul Jaminet at March 11, 2003 6:25 PM
I doubt the Hasid will ever be hip! I hope not anyway because I'm not that fond of 19th century attire generally. Nor the ghetto mentality that comes with it.
But Kabbalah? This mystical mish-mash is pushed as the same type of 'new age' philosphy as crystals, 'Golden Dawn', Eastern mysticism, Theosophy, occult and other such disparate belief systems.It's certainly not the 'new age' inclusive system they might think it is. At least not at the 'pop' level. Who's taking Madonna seriously anyway?
Kabbalah is all the rage in Hollyweird--Entertainment Weekly had a big write-up a few years ago.
Posted by: oj at March 11, 2003 10:56 PMWould the duds were so modern. They're 16-17th C. Eastern European (i.e., the area that is currently Poland/Western Belarus/Northwestern Ukraine).
Kabbala as a way of viewing the world is a genuine enough when the practitioners are reputable. But there's also no doubt (alas) that there's a lot of money in it (especially in what appear to be times apocryphal).
Indeed, Madonna might truly be wondering what the meaning in life is. Or what power in heaven exists that she should have become so wealthy and prestigious. Or perhaps, having transcended material, she is desperately trying to reconcile between her righteous and outrageous selves? Mid-life crisis? Fad? I assume it will pass.