Quote of the Day
October 09, 2005 | Aussie Dave | Comments 4
“There is a prohibition in Jewish law against using the holy name of our master, the Sage Isaac, for profit..This is an inappropriate act, and one can feel only pity at the punishment that she (Madonna) will receive from Heaven. The Sage Isaac is holy and pure, and immodest people cannot sing about him.”
- Rabbi Rafael Cohen, director of Rabbi Luria’s seminary, speaking about Madonna, whose song Isaac is said to refer to Rabbi Isaac Luria (renowned as the greatest kabbalist of modern times)
Filed Under: General
About the Author: An Australian immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave has been blogging since early 2003.
What prohibition would that be? Which of the 7 Noachide laws that Madonna is obligated to follow would prohibit her from using the Ari’s name for profit? Where do they dig up these “Rabbis”?
Just having gazed briefly over the post… kind of looked like it was about Leonard Cohen and “Story of Isaac”. Quite a different matter, though…
It sounds like Rabbi Cohen may be unaware that Madonna is not Jewish.
This whole thing is nonsense. If you ask me, rabbis responding to such idiocy and having it land in the mass media is itself a deceration of G-d’s name. However, the press is out there to trick us into providing them with the sensations they need to fill in the blanks. I’m sure Rabbi Cohen didn’t hold a press conference to condemn Madonna. Some Ma’ariv reporter called him up and got the words he wanted to hear – all in 20 seconds.
Shy Guy
This story caught my eye too.
Mystic Tackles Madonna, Figuratively Speaking
The serious part of my speculation was that the Rabbi’s use of the words “for profit” was a misreading of Madonna’s motives (I think she is sincere, even if a bit misguided). The sillier part was an imagined musical response from Madonna.