Madonna's mystical Mayfair party

Just because you've adopted an ancient form of Jewish mysticism does not mean you can't have fun any more. After all, what's the point of being the most famous follower of Kabbalah if you cannot invite your celebrity friends along to share your new passion?

Which is presumably why Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie threw a Kabbalah party in Mayfair last night.

The guests could discuss the merits of the faith inbetween cocktails without the bother of flying all the way to Israel.

Demi Moore even had a Kabbalah book, which probably explained why Madonna now calls herself Esther and has taken to wearing a red thread round her wrist. Black-clad doormen were on duty as photographers snapped the guests, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Donatella Versace and fashion designer Matthew Williamson.

It was a long way from Madonna's last proselytising mission, when she travelled to the Holy Land to visit some of the sect's holiest sites.

More than 1,000 police officers were drafted in to protect the singer and more than 2,000 from the Los Angeles Kabbalah Centre who were in Jerusalem last month for one of the biggest worldwide gatherings of the faithful. Complex theological arguments took place between rabbis as to whether Madonna's pop-star take on Kabbalah was insulting the faith.

It was quite comforting, therefore, to return to something we can all understand: an old-fashioned starstudded party with a trendy new theme.