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Madonna is reportedly becoming disillusioned with The Kabbalah Centre, an insider has been reported as saying to the Star newspaper. The source is quoted as saying that Madonna is upset that they have apparently been marketing off of her. The source was also quoted as saying that she is also tired of them constantly coming to the well for money, and she was furious they leaked she was to visit to Israel. The insider said that Madonna and hubby Guy Ritchie have had enough of it feeling leaders have become too intrusive in their lives. It was reported recently that...

Pop diva seeks 'Kabbalah energy' from the 'upper world' After recently canceling two concerts in the Jewish state due to alleged terror threats, pop diva Madonna said yesterday she intends to embark on a spiritual journey to Israel to rejuvenate her spirits and absorb "positive Kabbalah energy" from the "upper world." According to Britain's Sun, after her re-invention tour ends in Europe this month, the singer will accompany her husband, two children and other members of the Kabbalah Center on an "energy tour," which starts in September, the holiest month in the Jewish calendar.

Pop superstar Madonna's Re-Invention tour has been slammed by American critics - for overloading the show with "naive" political statements. The "American Life" singer, 45, kicked off the US leg of her tour in California on Monday but failed to impress critics with her attempts to "wipe the slate clean" by ditching her trademark raunchy routines. The Los Angeles Times sniped, "This promised to be Madonna's tour de force, a reappraisal that put her work in new and revealing contexts. But time and again she fell short of the challenge." Many critics were unimpressed by the images of the Iraq...

Esther, the pop artist formerly known as 'Madonna'Following in the footsteps of Hollywood divas Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore and Winona Ryder, pop-star Madonna has remade herself at London's Kabbalah Centre, home of the trendy crash course in ancient Jewish gnosticism. In fact, the Queen of Pop has changed her name to Esther, she says, in order to rid herself of any 'negative energy.' Carrie Tomko examines what's behind this New Age sucker-religion--and what's not.Kabbalah, cabala, quabala, qabalah--those are some, but not necessarily all of the possible spellings of the new old religion that America pop-artist formerly known as Madonna has...

MADONNA today compared US President George Bush to deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The 45-year-old pop star said the two men were "alike" because they both behaved "in an irresponsible manner". Madonna made the comments during an interview in which she tried to draw a line under her wild days, vowing to be "part of the order, not the chaos, of the world". Madonna's current Re-Invention tour carries a strong anti-war message and her recent video for the song American Life was clear in its opposition to the Iraq conflict. In the final scene of the video, a President Bush...

Not everyone is impressed that Madonna has re-invented herself, reports MSNBC.com. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the former friend and adviser to Michael Jackson, has attacked the Material Mom, calling her a "slut" and a "vulgarian." In a startling essay for SomethingJewish.Co.UK, the Rabbi blasts Phillip Berg, the head of the Kabbalah Centre, for letting the Material Girl be the religion's highest-profile spokesperson. "Earth to Phillip Berg: Do us all a favor and dump Madonna as your principal spokesperson," Boteach writes. "Sorry to be so crass, but Madonna is a slut. Yes, she may sing, and she may dance. But she is...

A California rabbi who was once associated with Michael Jackson is blasting a Kabbalah center for aligning itself with Madonna. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a former advisor to Jackson, attacked Phillip Berg, the head of the Kabbalah Centre, for allowing Madonna to be a celebrity spokeswoman for the mystical Jewish group, MSNBC reported Wednesday. Earth to Phillip Berg: Do us all a favor and dump Madonna as your principal spokesperson, Boteach posted on the Web site SomethingJewish.co.uk. Sorry to be so crass, but Madonna is a slut. Yes, she may sing, and she may dance. But she is famous for being...

One of the best places to catch a glimpse of celebrities in Los Angeles is inside an old church in Beverly Hills . There, “A-list” celebrities like Demi Moore, Britney Spears, and Madonna sing hymns at “pep-rally tempo” and shout hearty “Amens!” Has the long-prayed-for revival finally broken out in the entertainment industry? Not quite. When I described the church as being “old,” I mean “former.” And, while there is a revival of sorts, it’s a revival of an old error: Gnosticism. The meeting I just described is held every Friday night in a former church, L.A.’s Kabbalah Center. Kabbalah...

How an insurance salesman from Brooklyn convinced Madonna, Demi Moore, and Britney Spears that ancient Jewish mysticism could give them spiritual consciousness, better sex, and, just possibly, eternal life. LOS ANGELES — In the prayer room they call the "war zone," where the cosmic battle against Satan is fought, several dozen young men are swaying to the rhythms of the morning Jewish service. I'm at the international headquarters of the Kabbalah Centre — the new-age movement that claims to have reached over three million people, including non-Jewish pop stars, such as Madonna, Mick Jagger, and Britney Spears. With its fast-paced...

Is this a sign of the times or what? Cosmopolitan, the glossy bible of sex and shopping for the single girl, has launched a new monthly column on spirituality. "I've come to the painful realisation that men and shoes are not enough to make me happy," Hannah Borno, the magazine's new Spirituality Editor, wrote in the March edition. "The key to true contentment lies elsewhere." God and guidance would hardly seem to suit the "Cosmo girl." Media have mocked the magazine for asking what happens now after years of breathless stories about dressing sexy, finding men and having multiple orgasms....

THE  PRACTICE: Introduction To Kabbalistic  Procedure    There are a number of recurring ritual  procedures which either preface practical  Kabbalistic activities, or are involved in them  directly. All practical Kabbalistic procedures were to be  approached with extreme caution, as an error in  the invocation of the Divine could harm or kill  the Ba'al Shem or those around him. As a result,  thorough preparation was essential, sometimes  lasting up to three days, and typically involving  fasting, ritual cleansings, abstaining from  certain activities or foods (if fasting was not  required), meditation, and the recitation of  specific prayers or Psalms. Timing was a factor, especially for...

Mystical Qabalah, Mystical Christianity, and the Christian CabalaMystical Christianity is an outgrowth of the same universal spirituality found in the Hebrew tradition as the Mystical Qabalah. Christianity began as a sect of Judaism that sprang from the messianic advent of Master Yeshuvah, who was born a Jew and lived in a Jewish culture. All of his apostles and early disciples were also Jews. Master Yeshuvah, as with every appearance of Messiah, brought a fresh transmission of universal mystical spirituality clothed in the context of the historical setting, cultural milieu, environment, language, characteristic worldview, and prevailing body of discourse among the...

An Introduction to Kabbalah  Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi    KABBALAH   Kabbalah is the name of a body of esoteric knowledge. Its origin is the inner  teaching of Judaism. Its concern is God, the universe and humanity, and their  mutual interrelation.    Tradition states that it was given by the archangel Raziel to Adam and Eve,  after they had been cast out of Eden, so that they might regain entrance to  paradise. This Torah or teaching has been passed on over the generations,  although nearly lost from time to time. It is said that Abraham was initiated  into the tradition by...

<p>LOS ANGELES — She's publishing a series of kiddie storybooks.</p> <p>She's working with scientists who have discovered how to neutralize radiation.</p> <p>She's plotting to make a documentary about Kabbalah, a religious philosophy based on Jewish mysticism.</p> <p>Who's that girl?</p> <p>These days, Madonna strives to be neither material nor immaterial. After straddling the heights of wealth and celebrity for two decades, the pop diva is on a quest for meaning. And in American Life, due Tuesday, that means questioning the impulses behind her own rise to riches.</p>