Everyone has heard the joke about the Jewish mother pushing her two baby boys in the double stroller when she runs into a friend of hers. “They’re so cute,” coos the friend. “How old are they?”
The Jewish mother beams. “The doctor is two,” she replies promptly, “and the lawyer is one.”
In more yeshivishe circles, perhaps she would have responded, “The rosh yeshivah is two, and the posek is one.” But for those babies who grow up to labor as Zevulun rather than Yissachar, the legal field is often a natural choice for a parnassah; the intricacies of secular law rarely faze a young man whose mind has been honed by Gemara study. And of those who have chosen law as a profession, few have been more successful than Ben Brafman, the go-to criminal lawyer for everyone from religious Jews to hip-hop idols, mobsters, nightclub owners, business leaders, politicians, and football stars.
“There aren’t too many Orthodox lawyers in criminal law,” Brafman tells me as we settle into the couches in the sitting area of his spacious corner office, located on the 26th floor of a Third Avenue high-rise. Crowding the windowsills and walls are framed photos of family, including his ten grandchildren, and friends reflecting an unusually broad spectrum of acquaintances; there are signed photos of many well-known celebrities, framed articles about him from popular magazines and newspapers (including an article from Israel’sMaariv daily, entitled “Benny Superstar”), and even pictures of rebbes whom Brafman is close to. A life-size plaster policeman, complete with cell phone, badge, and night stick, stands guard next to his desk, so lifelike I do a double take, wondering if Brafman finds it necessary to hire security personnel. “My wife’s idea,” Brafman grins. “She figures he’s good for keeping me safe.”
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