"Ashton has taught me more about Judaism than I think I have ever learned from anyone else.

"Ashton's a very serious student of Kabbalah and Judaism. He knows a lot. He reads the Torah every Saturday."

A disembodied spirit out of Jewish folklore is to be the subject of a new horror film.

Spiderman director Sam Raimi is to produce “Dibbuk Box”, which will tell the story of a family cursed when they open a mysterious haunted box.

The film, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan of Grey’s Anatomy fame, is set to be released in time for Halloween.

Traditionally spelt with a Y, a dybbuk is said to be a malicious spirit that escapes from the soul of a deceased person and attaches itself to that of a living person in order to complete something left unfinished.

"I’ve found an amazing teacher in Israel and we do Skype lessons.

"It’s not about religion, but more about getting the rusty cogs turning and having a private dialogue with Guy."

"She looked like an Olivia. There's an olive tree in Israel that's special to us.

"We spent time under it when we first met in Israel."

Madonna donated thousands of dollars to a Jewish charity last year, according to the tax records for her charitable foundation which have been published on the website Showbiz 411.

The pop star, who is also a famous follower of Jewish mysticism Kabbalah, gave the Jewish Big Brothers and Sisters scheme $10,000 in 2009.

The charity, based in Los Angeles, runs mentoring programmes for Jewish children.

"I study Kabbalah because it takes me to a positive, calm place. That's what I use it for, and it helps me a lot. I've been in and out of Kabbalah since around 2000.

"I've been practising. I don't know if I've been pronouncing everything right but I've been practising"

Hollywood couple Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore are back in Israel.

It is the second trip to the country in three months for Mr Kutcher.

The pair, who are followers of Kabbalah, have been the subject of rumours about his alleged infidelity and the breakdown of their marriage.

But Mr Kutcher, who has nearly six million followers on his Twitter account, said on Twitter: “Sharing Love & Light while in Israel.”

Hollywood star Ashton Kutcher has been enjoying the sites of Israel – and the weather.

The actor, who is married to actress Demi Moore and is perhaps best known for having one of the world’s largest Twitter followings, was in Jerusalem for a Kabbalah event.

He and his wife are among a number of Hollywood followers of the Jewish mysticism, even marrying in a Kabbalah ceremony in 2005.

Accompanied by Ms Moore’s daughter Scout, Mr Kutcher attended the birthday party of Kabbalah Center founder Shraga Berg at the David Citadel hotel.

Actor James Van Der Beek has married his pregnant fiancée at a Kabbalah ceremony in Israel.

The star, who shot to fame as a Steven Spielberg-worshipping teenager on the 1990s series Dawson’s Creek, was married by "Rabbi" Yehuda Berg in Tel Aviv.

Mr Berg also officiated over the nuptials of Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher in 2005.

The bride, model Kimberly Brook, wore a black dress while Mr Van Der Beek, 33, chose a white Armani tuxedo. The pair, who met in Israel last year, are expecting their first child in the autumn.

Orthodox author Daniel Gigi wants to impart his knowledge of Jewish mysticism, known as Kabbalah.

He has published a book to help others learn the system of the Ecstatic School of Kabbalah, which, he acknowledges, may be obscure to a beginner.

Titled 28 Jewelled Crown — A comprehensive system of Jewish Meditation and Mysticism, and adapted for the modern audience, the book explores the ancient system of Jewish meditation and mysticism.

The Ecstatic Kabbalah is the meditative heritage of Jewish mysticism and the spiritual progeny of the prophets of ancient Israel.

This month, the month of Tevet, we should all be working on overcoming our anger to achieve a feeling of serenity, and come Iyar — April/May time — we should confront any inclination towards doubt and insecurity. According, that is, to Kabbalistic life coach Marvin Shaw.

Mr Shaw, 55, says there is a 12-step programme which can help people reveal and release their inner potential. It is based on the Kabbalistic notion hat each Jewish month has a “hoosh” (energy) which we should focus on during that month and, by working on these 12 energies, we can become much happier people.

Madonna made her return to the stage in Israel last night after a 16-year absence and told a crowd of 50,000: “Israel is the energy centre of the world.”

The concert, at Hayarkon Park in Tel Aviv, was the first of two to mark the end of her Sticky & Sweet tour. The second is this evening at the same venue.

She took the stage half an hour late and delighted fans when she grabbed an Israeli flag from the crowd and draped herself in it for her final song.

A top kabbalist has been asked to help a United Synagogue rabbi whose home is reportedly being visited by the ghost of a past minister.

Website reports on the haunting referred to an unnamed London rabbi, who the JC now understands to be Rabbi Yitzchok Sufrin, the part-time minister of Enfield and Winchmore Hill Synagogue in Middlesex.

The haunted rabbi initially turned to Rabbi Levy Yitzhak Raskin, a Lubavitch dayan in London, who contacted the Jerusalem office of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe (RCE).