Thank you, Madonna, for making Judaism exciting

I don’t know about you, but I must admit I find myself quite excited by this whole Madonna thing.

Indeed, I find myself almost giddy, really pleased, very happy.

I’m happy that Madonna announced that she’s adopting the Hebrew name of Esther.
I’m happy that she is no longer performing on Shabbat, that she wears a Jewish star, that she goes to shul, that during her concerts, there are Hebrew letters being flashed across a screen, and that in one of her music videos, she wears tefillin.

I’m loving it. I think all of that is great.

Now, I know most of you out there, especially those of you who think Judaism is serious business, especially those of you who see yourselves as so pious, don’t think what Madonna is doing is a good thing at all — think, in fact, it’s sickening and outrageous.
Well, it’s your kind of thinking that’s holding Judaism back, pulling Judaism down.

Sure, being Jewish is serious, but that doesn’t mean it has to be dull. In fact, for Judaism to thrive, we must continually find ways to make it anything but boring.

If we don’t, we can pooh-pooh all we want about why young Jews are intermarrying, not affiliating, not identifying, why they’re trying everything but Judaism.

And we can pooh-pooh all we want when poll after poll shows that more and more Jews simply feel no connection to Israel or to Judaism. We can pooh-pooh or we can act-act, do-do, enjoy-enjoy.

I’m enjoying that Madonna is so out there about her attraction to and her allegiance to things Jewish.

Now, yes, I am well aware that Madonna is Catholic and that she couldn’t have a more Christian name. And I’m also aware that her early career was less than pristine.

But she’s in her 40s now, a wife and mom and by her own admission has been looking far and wide for, as she told Larry King on CNN, “the answers to life. Why am I here?
What am I doing here? What is my purpose? How do I fit into the big picture?”

Good questions. Questions she has found the answers to in Judaism.

That thrills me. For I believe Madonna being so out there and so public about it — Madonna being Madonna, — her embrace of Judaism will do more good for Judaism than all the outreach organizations can do, than all the lame “continuity” programs ever did.

How many young Jews will be turned on to their faith because Madonna is turned on to Yiddishkeit. How many might want to adopt a Hebrew name, find out what this tefillin thing is, might consider not working on Shabbat. Hell, if Madonna won’t do her concerts on the Sabbath, maybe there’s something there to check out.

It is a weakness of Judaism that we so shy away from the Madonna news, either condemn, ridicule or ignore it. Instead, we should be kvelling from it.

So good for you, Madonna. And very good for us.

Joseph Aaron is editor and publisher of the Chicago Jewish News.