Madonna Sings About Kabbalah Founder

Fox News/September 29, 2005
By Roger Friedman

Madonna likes to think of herself as being on the cutting edge, so she probably thinks a song called "Isaac" on her new album, about the founder of modern Kabbalah, is just the ticket.

But Isaac Luria (1534-72), a messianic figure, was already the subject of a clever "X-Files" episode from 1997 called "Kaddish."

Madonna used to sing her sensational lyrics while gyrating around in rubber. But she's a religious woman now.

This new song, from "Confessions on a Dance Floor," is a paean to Luria. The 16th-century religious leader is suddenly hip, I guess.

Of course, the old Madonna — the one with a sense of humor — could have covered "When Messiah Comes," the witty Sheldon Harnick song cut from "Fiddler on the Roof."

"Isaac" (I guess we should be glad it's not called "Ike") also includes a spoken-word interlude from a member of the London Kabbalah Center named Yitzhak Sinwani.