# Why is studying the Kabbalah the latest celebrity fetish? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 20, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-studying-the-kabbalah-the-latest-celebrity-fetish/196458 "2003-08-20T15:30:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-studying-the-kabbalah-the-latest-celebrity-fetish/196458/1 "2003-08-20T15:30:04Z")
Typical celebrity nattering on MSNBC but I was curious as to what all the fuss is about, and why they seem so attracted to it. Most morally proscriptive religions are like Kryptonite to celebrities. What is it about Kabbalah mysticism that is so attractive to them? [The Wisdom of the Kabbalah](http://www.kabbalah.info/) > [@](#): > > “IT’S IN L.A., it must have cost at least $300,000, probably a lot more, and my understanding is that she paid cash for it,” says the insider. “Madonna is very, very deep into this.” > Madonna’s spokeswoman denies the story. “This is not true but someone seems to want to keep it going in the media,” she says. > But the source insists it is true. “Madonna wanted Eitan to have a nice place to live,” says the insider. “She sees him whenever she’s in L.A. When she’s in England, she visits his brother, Eliyahu, who teaches Kabbalah in London, so she always has a Yardeni on hand.” > > Madonna is so devoted to Eitan Yardeni that she reportedly consulted with him as to when she should give birth by cesarean. She also is said to have paid $5 million to help get a Kabbalah center built near her home in London. Although Kabbalah is all the rage among celebs right now — Yardeni also teaches Roseanne, Marla Maples, and Kenny G. — the study, as taught by the center where Madonna goes, has come under attack by traditional Jewish scholars. Rabbi Itzhak Kaduri, Israel’s top Kabbalistic expert has said whoever supports that group, “financially ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-studying-the-kabbalah-the-latest-celebrity-fetish/196458/2 "2003-08-20T15:46:36Z")
Do you have a link to the article? According to your quote it seems that _one_ celebrity (may) have a facination with the Kabbalah. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-studying-the-kabbalah-the-latest-celebrity-fetish/196458/3 "2003-08-20T17:01:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JuanitaTech \* > \*\*Do you have a link to the article? According to your quote it seems that _one_ celebrity (may) have a facination with the Kabbalah. \*\* [A very generous Material Girl](http://www.msnbc.com/news/943883.asp?0cv=LA01) > [@](#): > > Yardeni also teaches Roseanne, Marla Maples, and Kenny G. — the study, as taught by the center where Madonna goes, I also found [this site “From Celebrities to Zionists, Kabbalah an Endless Source of Solace”](http://www.rickross.com/reference/kabbalah/kabbalah21.html) which sort of answers my question > [@](#): > > Kabbalah tapped into human drives for historical redemption and personal salvation, which is why cabalists were concerned that their devotees lead a mature, settled life; the unleashed passions might otherwise be seriously disruptive. > > Only in the contemporary universe of entertainment celebrities, with its ceaselessly shifting personas and insatiable yearnings for attention, could Kabbalah be considered otherwise: a force for cozy self-satisfaction. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-studying-the-kabbalah-the-latest-celebrity-fetish/196458/4 "2003-08-20T19:30:05Z")
astro, there’s nothing new here. These “Pop Kabbalah” types are nothing more than the newest incarnation of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who the Beatles were nuts for. Celebrity spiritualism. As for your statement: > [@](#): > > Most morally proscriptive religions are like Kryptonite to celebrities. This remains true. What, you think that these guys are selling _genuine_ Kabbalah to Madonna, et al? Heck no. Genuine Kabbalah starts with a thorough understanding of Judiac learning…Torah and Talmud, and following those laws…then takes it to the next level. What these guys are doing is repackaging some Kabbalistic mystical concepts and conveying them wholesale, in the mistaken notion that this is an accurate representation of the secrets of Creation. ---
**Author:** ![WeRSauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f19dbf/32.png) [@WeRSauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WeRSauron)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-studying-the-kabbalah-the-latest-celebrity-fetish/196458/5 "2003-08-20T20:57:01Z")
Studying the Qabbalah is actually harder now, now that one has to wade through the fluffly New Age stuff to find the authentic stuff. Plus, there’s a perception that most of Qabbalah is the same thing - the Etz haChayyim (tree of life) with the sefirot (spheres and/or angels), etc. There’s sooooooooo much more than that. Read [“Tanya”](http://www.chabad.org/library/archive/LibraryArchive.asp?AID=6237&index=true) (also known as “Liqutei Amarim”) by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi. Then tell me Qabbalah is all about the Tree of Life and other fluff. This stuff is so dense that even Jews have a hard time getting through it. Real Qabbalah takes commitment, sacrifices, and utmost dedication to G-d. It’s complex and difficult. What makes matter more complicated is the integration of Qabbalah into mystical systems such as the Golden Dawn Western Mystery School, Rosicrucianism, Tarot-work, etc. The Qabbalah there is very different from Jewish Qabbalah. Anyway, my two cents. WRS ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-studying-the-kabbalah-the-latest-celebrity-fetish/196458/6 "2003-08-21T00:23:32Z")
I thought old chicks boning teenage boys was the latest celebrity fetish… ---
**Author:** ![FyreFiend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/919ad9/32.png) [@FyreFiend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FyreFiend)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-studying-the-kabbalah-the-latest-celebrity-fetish/196458/7 "2003-08-21T08:08:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tars Tarkas \* > \*\*I thought old chicks **boning** teenage boys was the latest celebrity fetish… \*\* :eek: :eek: :eek: That’s a turn-around from the normal way of things