;For Openers...
Vogue
Kabbalah Is
aiffiNS4
PHIL JACOBS
Editor
adonna, Sandra
Bernhard, Roseanne,
Courtney Love, Jeff
Goldblum, Laura Dern
and many, many more.
Know what they're doing?
I
Learning Kaballah.
Seriously.
The word is that L.A.'s Kabbalah
Learning Center doesn't have enough
instructors to keep up with the
demand. And learning Jewish mysti-
cism has become the new "in thing" for
celebrities.
It is now a quickly spreading spiritu-
al movement for those with money and
time on their hands.
According to the magazine
Entertainment Weekly, Madonna, who
I
Ar
llowz By You
GREAT-GRANDPA, PIP !OU
HAVE COMPUTERS (IV THE
O,(7 COUNTRY ?
IP
r lel
t, 0 A
S Ol
IV
f/ ''=11 :Iiiir
—
. ..,
..... adr ■ --
N0, BUT WE HAD AN HJFORNIATION
SYSTEM FAR MORE
EXCHANGE
EFFICIENT EVEN THAN THE
INTERNET
REALLY?
11
I 4
1
. <‘
tic I
..-
I- iva
. ■ ■
- ....._
YE-5, WE CALLED
THE M
GRANDPA!
/(
EN TAS "
_
...Th44
. x!r
„. io
)
........!---
.44 4
/..4
4/"
. ■ ,.....
-- /%1
Fog. ,_. .,
has spent her career talking about her
Catholic upbringing here in the
Detroit area, is flat turned on to the
concepts she's learning. The magazine
reported that she recently hosted a
reception in L.A. to spread the word of
Kabbalah.
Kabbalah is the centuries old study
of Jewish mysticism. It is said that the
scholars recommend that one not learn
Kabbalah before age 40, because of its
complexities of life and Jewish thought.
Oy.
The next thing you know, the
Material Girl will be learning Talmud
in a Daf Yomi class. Then after that
comes a year in seminary in Jerusalem.
Then after that comes the mikvah.
Well, maybe not the mikvah.
Then comes the music video.
Then comes the "Adventures of
Zohar," starring Madonna.
We're kidding. We hope.
Rabbi Herschel Finman of Oak Park
isn't a bit surprised by the spread and
the growth of Kabbalah.
He said the modern interest might
be partly tied to the popularity of the
1992 movie A Stranger Among Us, a
film starring Melanie Griffith. She
plays a detective solving a murder mys-
tery in a New York Chasidic communi-
ty. We'll get back to that in a moment.
"People are coming from the 'Me'
generation and are looking for some-
thing," said Rabbi Finman. "Kabbalah
can provide something more. The •
Torah is the Torah of Truth. There's
only one truth, and it's the truth for
everybody. This increase in learning
Kabbalah isn't really new It's something
that's been gaining in strength since the
beginning of the industrial revolution."
Now back to A Stranger Among Us.
Rabbi Finman, who teaches courses
in Kaballah throughout the communi-
ty, said he saw a recent increase just
after the movie was released.
His brother Yisroel and sister-in-law
Chavah and their children were actual-
ly extras in that movie. But it didn't
star Madonna.
Speaking of Madonna, Rabbi
Finman of Oak Park tells a story about
students of his in Farmington Hills
who sold their home to a Chaldean
family. The Chaldean family placed a
statue of a madonna in their front yard.
When the child of Rabbi Finman's stu-
dent drove by the home with her par-
ents, she asked about the statue in the
front yard.
The parents responded, "That's a
madonna."
The young girl said, "That's not
Madonna." ❑
Sunday, November 23, 1997
Beth Achim
21100 W. 12 Mile Road • Southfield, Michigan
Doors open at 7:00 p.m. • Buffet and Sweet Table
Cars • Luxury Trips • Jewelry • Computers • Electronics
Exercise Equipment • Sports Entertainment Package
And much, much more
For booklet and more information call (248) 552-9690
WM,
4, 1 6abi
• Antwerp Jewelers
• Barry K Salon
• Callanetics Stud°
• Cobo
• Cop y
Full
• D'All
• Esth
• Golden hoe
10/24
1997
5