Celebrities and Kabbalah . . . Why the Fascination?

Madonna began singing Kabbalah's praises nearly eight years ago on her Ray of Light album claiming that it helped her achieve spiritual clarity.

Last year, Demi Moore told Vogue that Kabbalah helps one reveal "the value of your worth." Roseanne Barr says it's the force behind her own reinvention -- that Kabbalah helped her reconfigure her entire being: the way she thinks, the way she does everything.

Pop princess Britney Spears has even come to embrace Kabbalah, along with the likes of many other celebrities, including Jeff Goldblum, Ashton Kutcher, Guy Ritchie, David and Victoria Beckham, and Elizabeth Taylor.

It's easy to wax suspicious about something you don't understand. And it's ridiculously easy to do it when celebrities are involved. Throw in something that looks to be religion-based and you have the perfect stew for skepticism.

After all, there are the candles that promise to soothe away anxiety created by unrealistic expectations. Then there are the $26 red string bracelets that -- as Madonna puts it -- "ward off the evil eye."

Celebrities rush to the Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Centre like the elderly to Friday night bingo tables. But what is Kabbalah exactly -- and what's the fascination?

The Kabbalah Centre, with over 50 locations around the world, brings today's students the teachings of Kabbalah, a 4,000 year old spiritual movement rooted in Jewish mysticism.

A movement that concentrates on studying the Zohar, a commentary on the Bible that the Centre calls the Holy Grail. Kabbalah is said to be the oldest wisdom of the world, revealing all the spiritual and physical laws that govern the cosmos and the human soul.

The Centre says Kabbalah is about "light," not religion, and claims that Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Shakespeare, and Freud all studied Kabbalah.

Yehuda Berg, author of "The 72 Names of God: Technology for the Soul," says that celebrities are attracted to Kabbalah because they often find themselves in the position of asking "now what"?

They're in their 30's, 40's -- maybe still in their 20's, and they've accomplished pretty much everything they set out to accomplish. They feel like they've done it all already, so what is there to do now? Kabbalah helps them answer that question.

So, is this a genuine attempt to embrace spirituality? Or is it simply another way to garner more media attention? Or could it simply be another ploy to make an A-lister seem more interesting? After all, Madonna did change her name to Esther, something that most have found to be odd, but it also received more than a little press.

As with everything, the Centre, where celebs are known to go for their Kabbalah training, has its share of critics. Some say that it grossly oversimplifies ancient Kabbalah and that it is much more about merchandising than enlightenment, purveying expensive stones, candles, string bracelets, and expensive waters that allegedly cleanse the soul. Some critics go as far as to call the Centre a dangerous cult.

Madonna's response to cult accusations? She was photographed leaving the Kabbalah Centre wearing a t-shirt that read: "Cult Member."

In a Newsweek interview that covered her In the Zone album, Kabbalah student Britney Spears claimed that during her life she's "been into a lot of Indian spiritual religions." When the interviewer asked if one of them was Hinduism, Spears deftly responded: "What's that? Is it like Kabbalah?"

Okay, so Spears isn't the most articulate advocate of Kabbalah. Or perhaps she just needs to lay off all the "zoning," but even so, it's difficult not to notice that Kabbalah has attracted its share of fans.

So what's Kabbalah's fascination for celebrities? The reduction of ego, a way to find one's purpose in life, a reason to believe in something larger than one's self, a way of reducing chaos in the world and in one's personal life?

Yes, to all of the above, it seems. And for some, there's the added promise of more press, a more eclectic image, and plenty of really fabulous merchandise.