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Friday June 18, 2004

Celebrity Jews

by benyamin cohen

Really material girl

Kabbalah enthusiast Madonna is penning her third of five children’s Kabbalah books called “Yakov and the Seven Thieves.” The Material Girl describes her new work as “a story about how all of us have the ability to unlock the gates of heaven — no matter how unworthy we think we are. For when we go against our selfish natures, we make miracles happen, in our lives and in the lives of others.” No word yet on whether the book, due out June 21, comes with a bottle of magical Kabbalah water.

The princess of tides

Speaking of Kabbalah, we’ve got yet another celeb who has reportedly joined the ranks of the cult … er, sect of Judaism. And it’s none other than Barbra Streisand who’s been spotted stopping by the L.A. offices of the Kabbalah Centre along with Demi Moore and Paris Hilton. “Scientology seems passé and Kabbalah has supplanted that organization as the so-called celebrity cult du jour,” cult watcher Rick Ross told MSNBC.

Women of valor, ‘Stepford’-style

Go see the hilarious remake of “The Stepford Wives,” with an all-star cast including Matthew Broderick, Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler and Christopher Walken. If you go, you’ll be treated to a scene where Midler’s Jewish character is attending a WASPy wives meeting telling them what she does with her pinecones during Christmastime: She uses them to write out the words “BIG JEW” on her roof.

Patinkin’s prostate

We’ve just heard from Mandy Patinkin’s reps and they told us that the Jewish actor (“The Princess Bride”) and Yiddish singer (“Mamaloshen”) is home recovering from his recent prostate cancer surgery. When he’s well, he hopes to continue his volunteer efforts with Americans for Peace Now.

Seeing green

Congrats to “Shrek 2” screenwriter and Orthodox Jew David Weiss on the record-breaking profits the movie has already brought in at the box office. And it’s in no small part due to the movie’s enduring theme, which Weiss learned from the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. “It’s a definition of love: What’s important to you is important to me,” he told Aish.com. “It’s really a basic theme of the film, and I’m proud to have helped steer things in that direction. So through “Shrek,” some Jewish wisdom is getting out to millions of Americans.”

The plane truth

Steven Spielberg’s new film, “The Terminal,” is about a foreigner on his way to America who is forced to live for months inside an airport terminal. The director says his new work is much like his 1986 mousecapade “An American Tail,” at its core a Jewish immigrant story. “It goes back to what makes this country so great and so strong — immigrants coming here from around the globe to the land of milk and honey, a place where they are allowed to dream of a better life for themselves,” Spielberg says. “In some ways, we have lost sight of the immigrant’s plight because security is more intense than ever before, and justifiably so. I think in a sense, this story celebrates the great American melting pot.”

Skin problems

Apparently, Britney Spears isn’t following all of the laws in the Torah. It was recently reported that the non-Jewish diva started keeping kosher. Now comes word that she and her new boyfriend got matching tattoos. C’mon, even Madonna knows Judaism frowns upon tattoos, matching or otherwise.

Columnist Benyamin Cohen is the editor of www.jewsweek.com. Starting this week, this column will alternate with those of Nate Bloom.

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