Ritchie Not Keen on Kabbalah

Madonna: Hubby's Not Bubbly About Kabbalah

Fox News/September 13, 2004
By Roger Friedman

The word from London is that Guy Ritchie, Mr. Madonna to you, is becoming less and less happy with the influence Kabbalah has over his wife.

He called friends over the weekend complaining about the constant interference Kabbalah leaders seem to be exacting in his marriage.

There is no word yet whether Ritchie will join Madonna and 5,000 glaze-eyed Kabbalists in Israel for celebrations later this week; he's still in London, and Madonna is wrapping up her tour in Lisbon, Portugal where, ever-so-spiritually, she's offering "special tickets" to her "beloved fans" for $112 apiece.

Madonna has been quoted to be wondering where all the money she's given Kabbalah leaders Philip and Karen Berg has gone. She's certainly right to ask questions.

According to its 2002 federal tax return, Kabbalah's Spirituality for Kids Foundation had well over $3 million in net assets that year, but spent only around $600,000 of the money. About $373,000 was used for salaries. Another $133,000 was for office expenses.

Kids are not mentioned once on the tax return. No money was given for grants or scholarships, according to the filing.

Meantime, Madonna is still being featured prominently on the foundation's Web site as bait for prospective followers. Interestingly, there is nary a word about Kabbalah on the singer's official site, madonna.com.