Meaningful People

Nachi Gordon sits down with Ben Brafman, one of the most well known criminal defense attorneys in the country and a proud frum Jew. Ben opens up about sitting with clients at the worst moments of their lives, why he says he's "not the morality police," the Otisville visiting day he can never forget, and the hardest conversation of his career, with Super Bowl champion Plaxico Burress.
 
They also get into the pressures and shortcuts that lead good people into serious crimes, the damage lashon hara does in our community, keeping Shabbos while representing Sean Combs, and the Brafman family legacy, from the Torah his father saved on Kristallnacht to the lives his brother, Rabbi Aron Brafman, changed at Yeshiva of Far Rockaway.
 
This episode is sponsored by:
 
► PZ Deals
 
Never pay full price again when you download the PZ Deals app.
 
https://app.pz.deals/install/mpp
 
_________________
 
► Colel Chabad Pushka App
 
The easiest way to give Tzedaka.
 
https://pushkapp.cc/meaningful
 
_________________
 
► Touro
 
Serious about your education and your Torah learning? Touro's Lander College for Men/Beis Medrash L'Talmud offers over 20 majors and pre-professional tracks, including finance, computer science, accounting, biology, psychology, pre-law, pre-dental and pre-med, plus honors pathways into New York Medical College and Touro College of Dental Medicine. Join the Open House on November 8.
 
https://lcm.touro.edu/openhouse
 
_________________
 
► Ceremian Financial
 
Advice built on experience. Moshe Alpert and Ceremian Financial are fiduciary financial advisors offering wealth management, financial planning, retirement planning, and estate and legacy planning for families, professionals and business owners, so you can have real peace of mind that your finances are taken care of. Schedule your first conversation today.
 
https://ceremianfinancial.com/
 
Moshe@ceremianfinancial.com
 
718-644-1594
 
_________________
 
► Town Appliance
 
Visit the website or message them on WhatsApp.
 
https://www.townappliance.com
 
https://bit.ly/Townappliance_whatsapp



Timestamps:
 
0:00 Intro: "I'm Not the Morality Police"
3:29 Ben Brafman on Talking Clients Out of Suicide and an Affinity Fraud in Shul
6:25 No Mussar and No Shortcuts: The Hard Work Behind the Job
8:31 His Father, Kristallnacht, and the Torah Saved From a Burning Shul
9:39 Law School, Stand-Up Comedy, and Humor in the Courtroom
11:46 What Gets Frum Business People in Trouble
13:26 Otisville Visiting Day: "Tatti, Kum Aheim"
16:28 COVID Loans, False Applications, and Federal Sentencing
20:34 Mesira, Cooperating With the Government, and Pardons for Sale
24:34 The Chesed of the Jewish Community and Hospital Shabbos Rooms
28:26 Lashon Hara: "Be Like Ben"
31:26 Yiddishkeit vs. Career: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and a "Heart Surgery"
35:30 Making a Name: In the Zone and No Summers Off
37:58 The Hardest Conversation: Plaxico Burress
41:40 How Do You Defend Someone You Think Belongs in Jail?
43:26 Smicha Is Not a PhD: Kollel, Financial Pressure, and the Cheder in Ramat Eshkol
48:42 The Art of Cross-Examination and the Evidence You Can't Cross-Examine
54:22 No Shortcuts to Success, and Lawyers Burned by AI
56:03 Not Picking Up on Shabbos for Sean Combs
1:01:18 The Mafia Cops Case That Should Be a Movie
1:05:36 Best and Worst Advice, and Learning Daf Yomi
1:09:26 Ben and His Brother, Rabbi Aron Brafman
1:15:50 Sullivan & Cromwell and Frum Lawyers in Big Law
1:18:08 Closing and Meaningful Minute Plus

On September 30, Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv was hijacked mid-air. A terrorist stabbed the pilot, the plane dropped 15,000 feet in under a minute, and for a few seconds nobody was flying it. Nachi Gordon sits down with Daniel Schlichter, who was sitting in the second row with his wife, two meters from the cockpit, and watched three Israeli passengers take the terrorist down while a dentist on board treated the pilot. Daniel handed them the headphones they used to tie him up.
 
Daniel walks through every minute: the empty cockpit, the off-duty pilots who took over, the flight attendant who told them to let the terrorist go, the emergency landing in Saudi Arabia with part of the tail missing, and the first direct flight from Saudi Arabia to Israel. He also opens up about why a man who never considered himself religious now calls it a divine miracle, and what he believes all 174 people on that plane are still here to do.
 
This episode is sponsored by:
 
► PZ Deals
 
Never pay full price again when you download the PZ Deals app.
 
https://app.pz.deals/install/mpp
 
 
Timestamps:
 
0:00 Intro: "Nobody's Flying This Plane"
1:55 Daniel Schlichter on Boarding Flight FZ1073 Home From Japan
3:36 "Somebody Is Stabbing the Pilot": The Fight in the Cockpit
8:45 Losing 15,000 Feet in Under a Minute
11:31 The Miracles That Kept 174 People Alive and What It Did to Daniel's Faith
16:06 An Empty Cockpit and the Off-Duty Pilots Who Took Over
18:59 Not Trusting the Crew and Landing in Saudi Arabia
22:52 Am Yisrael Chai and the First Direct Flight From Saudi Arabia to Israel
25:05 "Kill Me, Kill Me": Why It Was Terror, Not a Fight Between Pilots
29:10 "I'm Not a Hero": Coming Home and Searching for Why
32:57 The Indian Pilot Who Opened the Door

This is not a typical episode. Nachi Gordon sits down in Yerushalayim with Arnold Roth, whose 15 year old daughter Malki was murdered in the Sbarro pizzeria bombing on August 9, 2001. Arnold shares who Malki was, the last "I love you" she exchanged with her mother, and the twelve hours the family spent searching for her before the 2 a.m. phone call from her brothers.
 
But the story doesn't end there. Ahlam Tamimi, the woman who planned the attack, was sentenced to 16 life terms, freed in the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal, and has been living openly in Jordan ever since, where she even hosted her own TV show. She is the only woman on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list, with a $5 million reward on her head, and Jordan still refuses to hand her over. Arnold explains why he calls the silence of governments and American Jewish leadership a betrayal, and what each of us can do about it.
 
Sign the petition to extradite Ahlam Tamimi:
https://www.change.org/p/we-urge-the-president-and-secretary-of-state-of-the-united-states-to-do-everything-necessary-so-that-jordan-which-has-thwarted-this-process-for-years-finally-complies-with-its-treaty-obligation-and-with-fundamental-notions-of-justice
 
Learn more about the Malki Foundation:
https://www.kerenmalki.org
 
This episode is sponsored by:
 
► PZ Deals
 
Never pay full price again when you download the PZ Deals app.
 
https://app.pz.deals/install/mpp
 
_________________
 
► Colel Chabad Pushka App
 
The easiest way to give Tzedaka.
 
https://pushkapp.cc/meaningful
 
_________________
 
► Touro
 
Serious about your education and your Torah learning? Touro's Lander College for Men/Beis Medrash L'Talmud offers over 20 majors and pre-professional tracks, including finance, computer science, accounting, biology, psychology, pre-law, pre-dental and pre-med, plus honors pathways into New York Medical College and Touro College of Dental Medicine. Join the Open House on November 8.
 
https://lcm.touro.edu/openhouse
 
_________________
 
► Ness Vacation Homes
 
Eden Gardens' largest luxury home collection. Handpicked, high end homes available exclusively through Ness.
 
https://nessvacationhomes.com/
 
_________________
 
► Daily 613
 
Daily 613 is writing Sifrei Torah in memory of the victims of October 7th. Every letter is a letter of remembrance, and the more that is raised, the more Sifrei Torah will be written. Be part of the next one.
 
https://causematch.com/daily613
 
_________________
 
► Nishmasi
 
A new project from Rabbi Efrem Goldberg to strengthen your emunah. Eight WhatsApp communities, including shidduchim, fertility, finance, illness and more, with daily messages from Rabbi Goldberg tailored to your chapter in life. Find your community and join today.
 
https://nishmasi.org
 
_________________
 
► Rothenberg Law Firm
 
Personal Injury Law Firm for 50+ years! Reach out today for a free case evaluation.
 
https://shorturl.at/JFKHH
 
_________________
 
► Town Appliance
 
Visit the website or message them on WhatsApp.
 
https://www.townappliance.com
 
https://bit.ly/Townappliance_whatsapp



Timestamps:
 
0:00 Intro: Not a Typical Episode
3:53 Arnold Roth on Who Malki Was and Her Last Summer
9:05 August 9, 2001: The Sbarro Bombing
11:19 Twelve Hours Searching for Malki
16:26 The Shiva and Silence From the Israeli Government
19:48 A Zionist Let Down: Ahlam Tamimi Walks Free in Jordan
24:16 How Tamimi Planned and Carried Out the Attack
29:49 The Arrest, 16 Life Sentences, and a Secret Court Transcript
32:31 No Real Interest From the US as Tamimi Becomes a Prison Celebrity
36:12 The Shalit Deal: Tamimi at the Top of Hamas's List
39:22 Tamimi's TV Show in Jordan and Arnold Roth's Trip to Washington
43:35 2017: The US Charges Tamimi and Posts a $5 Million Reward
46:33 Jordan Declares Its Extradition Treaty Invalid
49:11 "A Foremost Priority": The Biden Administration Letter That Went Nowhere
51:58 If the US Really Wanted Tamimi, They Would Get Her
53:26 Billions for Jordan and the Silence of American Jewish Leaders
1:00:36 Everyone Knows Where Tamimi Lives, and the King of Jordan's VIP Treatment
1:03:06 "A Betrayal": What Arnold Roth Would Say to Tamimi
1:04:42 What Justice Would Change, and Losing Son-in-Law Naftali
1:09:58 The Malki Foundation and Nachi's Call to Sign the Petition

The shidduch system says stay in your lane: same hashkafa, same schools, and wait for the shadchan to call. Rivkah Fox thinks that's exactly what's keeping so many people single. With Blind Fate, the matchmaking platform she started on Instagram, she's throwing out the boxes and labels with anonymous bios, blind video dates and caricature resumes, and setting up couples the system would never put together, like a yeshivish guy with smicha and a modern Orthodox Ramaz grad who are now married with kids. Hundreds of singles in eight countries have gotten married through her setups, and instead of pushback, rabbanim and even a Rebbe's gabbai are calling her for help.
Nachi Gordon pushes her on all of it: whether crossing hashkafa lines puts someone's Yiddishkeit at risk, why she calls image the biggest problem in the shidduch world, how she gets paid without becoming a debt collector, and the week an entire family turned on her over one green check on the Loop app.
 
This episode is sponsored by:
 
► PZ Deals
 
Never pay full price again when you download the PZ Deals app.
 
https://app.pz.deals/install/mpp
 
_________________
 
► Colel Chabad Pushka App
 
The easiest way to give Tzedaka.
 
https://pushkapp.cc/meaningful
 
_________________
 
► Ness Vacation Homes
 
Eden Gardens' largest luxury home collection. Handpicked, high end homes available exclusively through Ness.
 
https://nessvacationhomes.com/
 
_________________
 
► Shopify Guru
 
Store looks great but not selling the way it should? Shopify Guru's Daniel gets under the hood and makes it actually work, no developer needed every time you want to make a change. Call 732-534-1404 or go to shopifyguru.io.
 
https://go.jcn.io/sgmp
 
_________________
 
► Rothenberg Law Firm
 
Personal Injury Law Firm for 50+ years! Reach out today for a free case evaluation.
 
https://shorturl.at/JFKHH
 
_________________
 
► Town Appliance
 
Visit the website or message them on WhatsApp.
 
https://www.townappliance.com
 
https://bit.ly/Townappliance_whatsapp

In this special throwback episode,Nachi Gordon sits down with Rivka Shotkin, a 16 year old from Passaic and the youngest guest in Meaningful People history. On January 31, 2021, a family ski trip in Tannersville ended when Rivka missed a turn on her last run of the day and went straight into a tree, breaking 11 bones, puncturing both lungs, and severing her spinal cord. She walks us through waking up in the ICU nine days later, three months of rehab during COVID without being able to see her family, and landing back in the hospital with septic shock just five days after finally coming home.
 
What makes this one special is how Rivka talks about all of it. She opens up about how unhappy she was before the accident, the strange sense of peace she felt that weekend, why she now calls her injury a gift, and what she wants the community to understand about treating people in wheelchairs. It's funny, honest, and genuinely inspiring.
 
This episode is sponsored by:
 
► PZ Deals
 
Never pay full price again when you download the PZ Deals app.
 
https://app.pz.deals/install/mpp
 
_________________
 
► Colel Chabad Pushka App
 
The easiest way to give Tzedaka.
 
https://pushkapp.cc/meaningful
 
_________________
 
► Shopify Guru
 
Store looks great but not selling the way it should? Shopify Guru's Daniel gets under the hood and makes it actually work, no developer needed every time you want to make a change. Call 732-534-1404 or go to shopifyguru.io.
 
https://go.jcn.io/sgmp
 
_________________
 
► Ness Vacation Homes
 
Eden Gardens' largest luxury home collection. Handpicked, high end homes available exclusively through Ness.
 
https://nessvacationhomes.com/
 
_________________
 
► Rothenberg Law Firm
 
Personal Injury Law Firm for 50+ years! Reach out today for a free case evaluation.
 
https://shorturl.at/JFKHH
 
_________________
 
► Town Appliance
 
Visit the website or message them on WhatsApp.
 
https://www.townappliance.com
 
https://bit.ly/Townappliance_whatsapp
 
 
Timestamps:
 
0:00 Intro: Meet Rivka Shotkin, MPP's Youngest Guest Ever
4:02 Welcome to the Studio and Growing Up in Passaic
7:23 The Ski Trip to Tannersville That Changed Everything
10:10 Airlifted to Albany and Waking Up Nine Days Later
13:20 Learning Rivka Was Paralyzed and Eli Portell's Advice
15:49 Anger, Dark Humor, and Taking It in Stride
18:04 Three Months of Rehab During COVID
22:07 Punishment, Test, or Gift?
23:33 Coming Home, a Wedding Cake, and Septic Shock
27:29 How to Accept What You Never Signed Up For
29:45 Unhappy Before the Accident and a Strange Premonition
31:57 Choosing Happiness and Strength From Rivka's Parents
34:59 Brain Surgeon Dreams and How to Treat People in Wheelchairs
38:20 Emunah, Hashgacha, and Not Being Afraid of the Pain
42:36 Rivka's Second Rosh Hashanah
46:17 Camp Simcha and Rivka's Support System
49:06 Poetry, Dreams, and Determination