A very generous Material Girl

MSNBC/August 20, 2003
By Jeanette Walls

Just how devoted is Madonna to Kabbalah? So devoted, says a source, that the former Material Girl bought a new house for Eitan Yardeni, the man who teaches her the ancient form of Jewish study.

"It's in L.A., it must have cost at least $300,000, probably a lot more, and my understanding is that she paid cash for it," says the insider. "Madonna is very, very deep into this."

Madonna's spokeswoman denies the story. "This is not true but someone seems to want to keep it going in the media," she says.

But the source insists it is true. "Madonna wanted Eitan to have a nice place to live," says the insider. "She sees him whenever she's in L.A. When she's in England, she visits his brother, Eliyahu, who teaches Kabbalah in London, so she always has a Yardeni on hand."

Madonna is so devoted to Eitan Yardeni that she reportedly consulted with him as to when she should give birth by cesarean. She also is said to have paid $5 million to help get a Kabbalah center built near her home in London.

Although Kabbalah is all the rage among celebs right now - Yardeni also teaches Roseanne, Marla Maples, and Kenny G. - the study, as taught by the center where Madonna goes, has come under attack by traditional Jewish scholars.

Rabbi Itzhak Kaduri, Israel's top Kabbalistic expert has said whoever supports that group, "financially or otherwise. . . .is endangering his soul."