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MADONNA AND RITCHIE PRAY WITH CHILDREN
Category: Kabbalah.
contactmusic.com MADONNA and GUY RITCHIE have attempted to dispel rumours their marriage is in trouble - by stepping out in New York with their children to attend Kabbalah services. The couple has been under intense media scrutiny amid rumours they are on the verge of a divorce. But the pair - accompanied by children Lourdes, 11; Rocco, seven; and David, two - put on a show of unity after arriving together at the Kabbalah Centre in New York City on Saturday (05Jul08). During the ceremony, the singer sat with the kids on the women's side of the aisle, apart from her filmmaker husband, a custom in the religion's worship tradition. Earlier this week (beg30Jun08), Madonna's publicist Liz Rosenberg issued a statement denying the pair is filing for a legal separation. 06/07/2008 14.09.22
New Madonna Letter and Photo on Raising Malawi website.
Category: Kabbalah.

There is the following wonderful new "Letter from Madonna" on the Raising Malawi website:

Special thanks to Raising Malawi people for informing Drowned Madonna.

Ari Gold about having the Shabbat dinner with Madonna.
Category: Kabbalah.

In a previous report, we talked about Madonna having the Shabbat dinner at New York Kabbalah Center with other celebrities, including singer Ari Gold. Ari Gold talks about that dinner in a new personal letter to his friends and fans he posted in his official myspace page. Here's an excerpt:

"This past Friday night my journey led me to the Kabbalah Center. I was invited to services and dinner by one of the teachers there, Michael Moskowitz, who I’ve known since my Bronx days, and he and his wife were such gracious hosts. According to Michael, I was the special male guest that night and Madonna was the female guest, celebrating Karen Berg’s birthday (with her husband, the founders of the Kabbalah Center) as well as the new moon coming out on Sabbath. As I stood there saying the silent prayer of the "Shmoneh Esreh" I couldn’t help but remark on the irony that throughout my youth I would say that prayer and dream about Madonna taking me out of the constraints of my orthodox upbringing and here it is that I had escaped it, only to be brought back all these years later to saying the same prayer with Madonna herself. I guess there really is one God after all."

More pics from Madonna's visit in Israel.
Category: Kabbalah.

From ynet.co.il:

Special thanks to Israboy.

More about the meeting with Shimon Peres.
Category: Kabbalah.

From YnetNews.com:

"Tell me what I should do, Mr Peres, because I am in love with Israel," pop star Madonna, who is visiting the Jewish state to attend a conference on Kabbalah, told President Shimon Peres on Saturday evening.

The pop star was seen entering Peres’ Jerusalem residence after the end of the Jewish New Year at sunset Saturday.

In the meeting, which lasted longer than scheduled, Peres spoke about peace and tolerance, the war on terror and ways in which international artists and celebrities can take part in advancing the peace process.

"I can’t believe I have won this opportunity to raise a toast for the New Year in the state of Israel of all places, with the president who I admire so much," Madonna said.

The pop star promised to be active in promoting the issues Peres referred to and said she would include a song about peace in her next album.

"You don’t know how popular the Book of Splendor (Sefer Hazohar) is among Hollywood actors," Madonna told the president. "Everyone I meet talks to me only about that. I am an ambassador for Judaism, and time will tell."

Talking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Madonna said, "What is happening is terrible. I hope the human mind and common sense overcome extremism."

Madonna gave Peres the Book of Splendor with the dedication, "To Shimon Peres, the man I admire and love, Madonna."

The president gave the pop star a golden bible designed by Israeli sculpture Ya’acov Agam with a personal dedication.

Madonna and Peres talked about peace, conciliation and tolerance.
Category: Kabbalah.

The Jerusalm Post reports about Madonna meeting with Isreali President Shimon Peres:

On Saturday night, Madonna and her film director husband, Guy Ritchie, traveled to Jerusalem and met with President Shimon Peres for nearly two hours at Beit Hanassi.

According to the president’s spokeswoman, Peres and Madonna toasted the Jewish New Year together, and presented each other with gifts of holy books - Madonna received a copy of the Hebrew Bible, and the singer gave the president a copy of the Zohar, the mystical text that serves as the basis of Kabbala.

"The president and Madonna discussed how to advance the peace process, and conciliation and tolerance throughout the world," said presidential spokeswoman Ayelet Frish. "Madonna told the president she wants to promote those messages in her songs and books, and how important it was to educate children with those ideas. She also said that meeting President Peres and welcoming in the new Jewish year together with him was the fulfillment of a dream."

Madonna and Guy leaving Jerusalem
Category: Kabbalah.

Madonna and Guy Ritchie as they walk out from a restaurant and leave Jerusalem.

Photos: The Associated Press

[BREAKING NEWS] Madonna and Guy Ritchie meet Israeli President Shimon Peres
Category: Kabbalah.

JERUSALEM - Madonna met with Israel's president Saturday during a visit to attend a conference on Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical sect she has embraced despite criticism from Orthodox Jews.

The pop star was seen entering Shimon Peres' home in Jerusalem with husband Guy Ritchie after the end of the Jewish New Year at sunset Saturday. The Nobel Peace laureate gave Madonna a copy of the Old Testament that she had requested, Israeli TV reported.

On Friday, Madonna was filmed singing Jewish songs and dancing at a conference on Kabbalah with a crowd of hundreds at a Tel Aviv hotel.

Madonna, who arrived in the Holy Land on Wednesday, has become a follower of Kaballah in recent years despite her background as a Roman Catholic. Orthodox Jews have called her interest in the sect an abomination.

The singer has taken the Hebrew name Esther, and has been seen wearing a red thread on her wrist in a Jewish tradition to ward off the evil eye. During her visit she plans to visit sites sacred to Kabbalists.

Photos: The Associated Press/REUTERS

Madonna Criticized By Israeli Gays For Taking Part In Kabbalah Conference.
Category: Kabbalah.

From 365Gay.com:

Some Israeli gays are criticizing Madonna for taking part in a conference in Tel Aviv put on by Kabbalah when Israeli leaders of the mystic Jewish sect have been vocal in their opposition to homosexuality.

Mainstream Judaism has been critical of the Kabbalah movement but Orthodox rabbis embraced Kabbalah leaders when they joined in voicing outrage over Worldpride in Israel and gay pride marches in Jerusalem.

Last year Rabbi David Basri, head of the Kabbalah’s Magen David Yeshiva in Jerusalem blamed gays for an outbreak of bird flu.

Basri said the outbreak was God’s punishment for the promotion of same-sex marriage.

"The Bible says that God punishes depravity first through plagues against animals and then in people," Basri said in a religious edict.

In 2004 he lashed out at gays on the eve of pride celebrations in Jerusalem.

"This is not a disease or a deviation, but a straight-out abomination. Even animals don’t behave this way... There is no place in the Holy City for such a phenomenon," he said.

Latest from Israel.
Category: Kabbalah.

From The Associated Press:

JERUSALEM: Clapping and singing, pop music star Madonna joined in a Kabbalah conference on Friday in Tel Aviv to celebrate the Jewish New Year.

Madonna was singing Jewish songs with the crowd of hundreds at the David Intercontinental Hotel, site of the conference on Jewish mysticism. At one point she pressed another participant — apparently a friend of hers — up to the front where he danced excitedly, making her and the crowd giggle and clap enthusiastically.

The 49-year-old diva was wearing a black jacket with elbow-length sleeves and held at the waist with a belt with a large buckle. She also donned a baseball-type hat plaid in red and black with her hair in a ponytail.

Madonna arrived in Israel Wednesday night on a private visit to the Holy Land. The singer did not speak to the media and the conference was closed to TV cameras.

The actress Demi Moore and her husband, Ashton Kutcher, were also attending the conference in Tel Aviv, and were seen out on the city streets Thursday night.

[Rumours] Lourdes, Rocco and David to clear their souls into a river in Israel.
Category: Kabbalah.

From This Is London:

The Material Girl reportedly plans to ’cleanse’ the souls of her children during the pilgrimage to celebrate the Jewish New Year.

She and husband Guy Ritchie, 39, will take Lourdes, 10, Rocco, seven, and 22-month-old David to a river to cast off their sins.

Kabbalah follower Madonna, 49, has told them they must collect all their bad thoughts and send them away down the flowing waters.

Each child will have symbolic pieces of bread in their pockets to represent their sins.

They empty their pockets into the river, thus cleansing their souls. Our well-placed source said: "This is a sign that Madonna is increasingly becoming more committed to Jewish customs. She was adamant Guy and the kids travel to Israel with her, it’s close to her heart and she wants to share it with her family."

During the 10-day trip, Madonna and her family will take religious lessons and visit holy sites in Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and Galilee.

Police in Israel have deployed an extra 2,000 officers after reports that religious extremists could disrupt the visit.

Source say Madonna is now so steeped in the Kabbalah sect that she is on the verge of going through the full converting process to Judaism.

The insider added: "She has too much work on at the moment to take that final step, but Madonna is very keen to totally convert as she takes the religion and its customs very seriously."

More photos from Israel.
Category: Kabbalah.

Photo by AFP and AP via Ynet

Click here to enter GettyImages and see more pics.

Special thanks to El for the submission.

Madonna and Friends in Israel
Category: Kabbalah.

Guy Ritchie, Steven Klein and Hypnosis

Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher

Photos: Associated Press

CNN video about Madonna visiting Israel.
Category: Kabbalah.

Click here to watch a CNN news video about Madonna's visit in Israel.

Madonna attends Kabbalah conference in Israel.
Category: Kabbalah.

JERUSALEM: Pop star Madonna joined with other devotees of Kabbalah, a Jewish form of mysticism, at a Tel Aviv hotel on Thursday on the occasion of the Jewish New Year.

Madonna, who wore a shiny black zipper jacket and a red hat with a plaid brim, is attending a Kabbalah conference during a private visit to the Holy Land. The singer, who arrived in Israel on Wednesday night, did not speak to the media.

Madonna was raised a Roman Catholic, but she has become a follower of Jewish mysticism in recent years, raising the ire of many Orthodox Jews who see the adoption of Kabbalah by non-Jewish pop figures as an abomination.

The singer has taken the Hebrew name Esther, and has been seen wearing a red thread on her wrist to ward off the evil eye. During her visit she plans to visit sites sacred to Kabbalists.

Madonna paid her first visit to Israel three years ago, on another Kabbalah-centered trip.

Source: The Associated Press.

Safed hopes Madonna boosts economy.
Category: Kabbalah.

SAFED, Israel — When it comes to spirituality, Safed lacks nothing. But the Israeli mountain town has been struggling economically since last year’s war with Hezbollah, authorities are hoping a Rosh HaShanah visit by the Material Girl will bring real material benefits to its 30,000 residents.

Madonna, returning to Israel for the first time since September 2004, plans to visit Safed — the world center of Jewish mysticism — along with Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and other points of interest as part of a tour being organized by the Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Centre.

The pop icon is expected to bring along celebrity friends Demi Moore, Donna Karan, and about 3,000 Kabbalah Centre students from around the world who are participating in a 10-day pilgrimage to Israel that is set to end on Yom Kippur.

"From a business point of view, anything that brings people into Safed is desirable," said Laurie Rappaport, who has lived here for 24 years and runs the visitor’s center for Livnot U’Lehibanot, a volunteer organization.

"A lot of people are looking for spiritual fulfillment and making themselves better. Once they get here, they’re curious to learn more," said Rappaport, a Detroit native, adding that "this is a stop on almost every group tour, and a lot of shops try to bring people in using kabbalah. If they don’t buy a kabbalah necklace, they’ll buy something else."

Yet not everyone sees the Madonna visit as a shot in the arm for Safed, one of Israel’s four biblical "holy cities" and the site of historic 16th-century synagogues dedicated to Isaac Luria, Joseph Caro, and other Jewish luminaries.

"The phenomenon of Madonna is not mainstream, it’s just silliness," said Eyal Riess, the former director of the visitors’ center at Ascent, a Jewish studies program in the center of town. "The way she acts and behaves is shtuyot," or nonsense, he said. "She is not a role model."

Ya’acov Kaszemacher, a bearded, 66-year-old Orthodox Jewish artist who incorporates mystical themes into the watercolors he sells to tourists, also complained.

"Kabbalah is too holy to be put into the hands of everybody," Kaszemacher said. "Even me, I’m a Jewish artist and I live in Safed, but I’m not a kabbalist because I’m not at that level."

Yet as more and more Jews — and gentiles — follow Madonna’s example and take up interest in kabbalah, Safed officials see a unique chance to revive an economy that’s still recovering from the destruction caused last summer by Katyusha rockets fired from nearby Lebanon.

"We have a very beautiful and interesting city," said Amos Lotan, director of tourism for Israel’s Tzahar region, which encompasses Safed and the adjacent towns of Rosh Pina and Hatzor Haglilit. "Here there’s magic in the air. This could be the best place to create a world center for kabbalah."

That’s exactly what a Florida Jewish federation has in mind.

Since 1995, the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County has donated more than $8 million to fund development projects throughout the Tzahar region. Its latest project is the construction of an international kabbalah center that would boost tourism revenues for Safed, which has few hotels compared to the nearby town of Tiberias.

The federation has donated $100,000 in seed money to get the center started. Several millions more will probably be earmarked in years to come, with other donors being sought, including some from Europe.

"Madonna’s interest in kabbalah has certainly helped focus a lot of attention on Safed internationally, but the project we have in mind is very different from the Kabbalah Centre with which Madonna is affiliated," said Sharon Levin, the Palm Beach federation’s representative in Safed.

"We are a public organization dedicated to developing a pluralistic center for anyone, regardless of background or religious affiliation, whereas the Kabbalah Centre is a private enterprise with a very clear profit motive."

Levin said that while the structure still does not exist, it will include a visitors’ center with audiovisual presentations, an auditorium capable of seating 100 or more for lectures and seminars, and smaller rooms that can be used for classrooms or workshops.

Jeffrey Klein, the federation’s CEO, said that Safed has not fully recognized its potential either as a center of tourism or as a center of spirituality.

Source: New Jersey Jewish Standard.

An Israel visit planned?
Category: Kabbalah.

Nrg.co.il, an Israeli news website, reported yesterday that Madonna is planning a visit to Israel on the Jewish new year -Rosh Hashana - this coming September, as a gust of the Kabbalah Center.

When asked, the Kabbalah Center in Tel Aviv response was that they cannot confirm or deny, and that an official press release will be out on monday.

Special thanks to El.

Madonna: ''We need to work together''.
Category: Kabbalah.

Madonna danced with Malawian children on Thursday during a visit to an orphanage and urged them to "help themselves" instead of relying on her.

Wearing dark glasses and clutching the one-year-old Malawian boy she is adopting, the singer toured the $120,000 facility that is home to 4,000 orphans and which she helped to fund.

Surrounded by children, she jived to Malawian music accompanied by pounding traditional drums as staff and villagers sang "Madonna thank you for coming".

"This is a partnership, it’s not (for) me to do everything but we need to work together and you have to help yourselves," Madonna told orphans, adults from the local village and orphanage staff.

HIV/AIDS has killed millions in Malawi, leaving more than a million orphans.

Raising Malawi, a charity co-founded by Madonna, provides food, education and health services to 32,000 orphans in the southern African country through seven community-based organisations. 

Thursday’s trip to the orphanage comes at the end of a three-day visit to Malawi, during which Madonna visited the Home of Hope orphanage where David once lived, and where witnesses said he met his biological father.

Source: Reuters.

New photographs from Malawi.
Category: Kabbalah.

Malawians hold up posters for Madonna as she visits a center for street children, Wednesday, April 18, 2007 in the Malawian capital, Lilongwe. Madonna and her daughter visited a center for street children Wednesday that is benefiting from the charity work the star is doing in the impoverished southern African country.

Madonna talk to an aide as she leave a center for street children.

 

Madonna and her daughter Lourdes, right, arrive at a center for street children.

Malawians try to catch a glimpse of Madonna as she leave a center for street children.

 

Madonna visited a Malawi rehabilitation center for Children and Prostitutes.
Category: Kabbalah.

Madonna visited a Malawi rehabilitation center for children and prostitutes on Wednesday amid calls by local media for greater transparency in the pop star’s activities in the country. 

A day after teenagers threw stones at journalists trying to cover the U.S. pop diva’s visit to a local orphanage, she was greeted by people waving welcoming signs before being whisked into the center while reporters were kept outside.

"Welcome Madonna, Adopt More Poor Orphans," said one sign said, referring to the star’s adoption of a young Malawian boy.

The influential Daily Times newspaper said it backed Madonna’s pledge to help Malawi, but urged the star and her handlers to be more open after the furore surrounding her last trip when she started the adoption process.

"It is surprising that just like her first trip, Madonna’s second trip to Malawi is also shrouded in secrecy," the Daily Times said in an editorial.

"This kind of behavior is what gives room to speculation and in the end, people are fed with wrong information which may lead to wrong conclusions and actions."

Madonna’s spokeswoman has flatly denied media reports the star was considering adopting a second Malawian child, saying her current trip was aimed at promoting her charitable work.

But the controversy has continued amid a lack of official information about her activities.

Schoolchildren pelted reporters’ cars with stones on Tuesday to keep them away from the orphanage where she brought one-year old David Banda -- the boy she is adopting -- to meet his biological father.

The director of the orphanage on Monday vowed security during the visit would be tight and said Madonna’s camp had requested the media be kept out.

Madonna eventually invited journalists into the orphanage where she answered a few questions and posed for photographs with Banda and her daughter Lourdes.

The visit comes some six months after Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie signed interim adoption papers for Banda, who will stay with the couple for 18 months before a decision by the Malawian government on whether to finalize the adoption.

The decision to take Banda back to Britain sparked criticism from some rights groups that Madonna was using her fame and wealth to circumvent adoption laws in the country. The singer denied the charges.

Madonna is paying for a new clinic to be built in the Malawian village of Gumulira and is supporting efforts by aid groups to help improve food security and education there.

The Social and Rehabilitation center, a small white building in a Lilongwe township, is another beneficiary of Madonna’s Raising Malawi charity.

Source: Reuters.