January 8, 2025

Linking Northern and Central NJ, Bronx, Manhattan, Westchester and CT

Martin Bodek

For years now, Martin Bodek has been wearing cuff links themed to the week’s parsha, to stimulate conversation around the Shabbat table. Naturally, it begged for a wider audience, and The Jewish Link seems like a perfect home—especially in name. Every week, we’ll present the cuff links, and you tell us how it ties in to the parsha of the week. E-mail your guesses, educated and otherwise, to [email protected] and we’ll publish the best and most creative answers a week later. Have fun!

Articles by Martin Bodek

Va’era

Hi! Smart people around town last week. Everyone seemed to intuit pretty quickly that the keyboard keys were my initials, but how does that tie

Shemot

Hi! Were you able to decipher last week’s cufflinks? Of course you were, because after you were done being a little creeped out by the

Vayechi

Hi! Last week’s cufflinks were the compasses because the players in the parsha traveled between Canaan and Egypt about 84 times. Okay, fine, not that

Vayigash

Hi! Last week’s cufflinks were Bitcoins, which everybody properly identified, and they were in reference to the myriad forms of transactions that take place over

Miketz

Last week’s “Real Men Wear Pink” cufflinks drove everyone batty. Joseph was a real man in many respects, but also in a very Pinocchio kind

Vayeishev

Hi! Last week’s crossed swords were obviously related to the multiple forms of war discussed in last week’s parsha, and preparations for war and anticipation

Vayishlach

Hi! Last week’s cufflinks were a picture of a specific wild cat, and the guesses you came up with before landing on the right one

Vayeitzei

So nu? Did you grasp which group last week’s cufflinks stood for? Did you realize they were the insignia for the Rebel Alliance? Of course

Toldot

Did you notice that last week’s cufflinks were miniature leveling devices? If yes, you will have noted that they were filled with water, naturally, which

Chayei Sarah

Did you get last week’s cufflinks tie-in to the parsha? It was the laughing-with-tears emoji. Of course you did, because you understand that the expressions

Vayeira

Hi! Last week’s cufflinks were the Captain America shields, which were easily identified, but did you know how they linked to the parsha? Did you

Lech Lecha

Hi! Did you have trouble with last week’s cufflinks? Did you not recognize which of the 6,400 mammals on earth those were? They were aardvarks!