Maddona Meets with Peres in Israel

Madonna has taken the Jewish name "Esther" and is practicing Kabbalah.
Kabbalah is an aspect of Jewish mysticism. It consists of a large body of speculation on the nature of divinity, the creation, the origin and fate of the soul, and the role of human beings. It consists also of meditative, devotional, mystical and magical practices which were taught only to a select few and for this reason Kabbalah is regarded as an esoteric offshoot of Judaism. Some aspects of Kabbalah have been studied and used by non-Jews for several hundred years, so Madonna is not alone.
Madonna led a delegation to a Kabbala conference in Tel Aviv on Friday to celebrate Rosh Hashana. The diva was seen singing Jewish songs with the crowd of hundreds at the David Intercontinental Hotel, where the conference on Jewish mysticism was held. At one point, she pressed another participant, apparently a friend, up to the front where he danced excitedly, making her and the crowd giggle and clap enthusiastically.
On Saturday night, Madonna and her film director husband, Guy Ritchie, traveled to Jerusalem and met with President Shimon Peres for nearly two hours at Beit Hanassi.
According to the president's spokeswoman, Peres and Madonna toasted the Jewish New Year together, and presented each other with gifts of holy books - Madonna received a copy of the Hebrew Bible, and the singer gave the president a copy of the Zohar, the mystical text that serves as the basis of Kabbala.