Spiritual side sated with trips to holy sites, Material Girl begins rehearsals

With her spiritual itinerary safely out of the way, international pop diva Madonna has begun to inhabit her material girl persona, complete with demands for a private pool and game room to be built at the site of her upcoming concert.

Madonna, who is not Jewish but identifies with the Jewish mystical kabbalah movement, spent the weekend visiting holy sites, including trips to the Western Wall tunnels in Jerusalem and Safed’s ancient cemetery. She also attended a series of Shavuot classes at the Kabbalah Center in Tel Aviv.

On Sunday, she began rehearsals for her Thursday night concert, which will kick off her MDNA world tour.

The concert, which tens of thousands are expected to attend, will be held at Israel’s national soccer stadium in Ramat Gan.

According to reports in Israeli media, the specially built compound at the site of the concert includes a pool and game room for the Material Girl’s four children, in addition to the usual offices and work space. The stadium is also being significantly reconfigured to hold all the props, screens, lights and stunts required for the queen of pop’s stage show.

The mega-diva is three days into her nine-day stay in Israel, which she was quoted Thursday as calling “the center of world energy.”

“If there is peace in Israel, there will be peace in the world,” Madonna said prior to her arrival, according to the Hebrew daily Maariv.