Meet Martin Bodek

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Martin Bodek a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Martin, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

Well, considering that I usually get this question in regards to my grandfather’s experience – as chronicled in Zaidy’s War – I would say I get it directly from him.

He endured a lot, a great deal, a shocking horror of a great deal, and his storytelling when I was younger most certainly had an impression on me, and held me in thrall.

I enjoy endurance races and fitness regimens. I want to see what I’m made of, and I do this constantly, and I’m hungry for more, and I think it’s genetic. I think I’ve always wanted to know what I’m of, but I truly have always wanted to know if I’m made of the same stuff as my grandfather.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Martin currently lives in NJ with his wife and three children. He is an avid marathoner, Daf Yomi participant, Wordler, vexillologist, and halvah aficionado. He is a technologist by day, and a writer by night.

A freelance writer on Jewish interest topics for three decades, his work has been published in The Huffington Post, The Denver Post, The Washington Times, The Jewish Press, Country Yossi Magazine, Modern Magazine, The Jewish Link of NJ, The Jewish Book Council, scoogiespin, israelinsider, bangitout, jewcentral, Jew in the City, Aish, and Shepherd. His work was translated for Germany’s only weekly Jewish newspaper, The Jüdische Allgemeine. Zaidy’s War was translated into Yiddish and serialized in Der Yid. He is the co-creator of TheKnish.com, a popular Jewish news satire site, the beat reporter for JRunners, the surname columnist for jewishworldreview, the cufflink columnist for The Jewish Link of NJ, and is part of the Word Prompt rotation in The Jewish Press.

The Emoji Haggadah, The Festivus Haggadah, The Coronavirus Haggadah, The Shakespeare Haggadah, and This Haggadah is the Way: A Star Wars Unofficial Passover Parody generated much praise and media attention, and were covered in The Jewish Week, The Jewish Link of NJ, Jewish Vues, Vos Iz Neias, Jewish Book Council, northjersey, The Forward, Jewish Journal, J-Wire, Vox, The Jewish Press, The Jewish Fund, The Jerusalem Post, The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Jüdische Allgemeine, Moked, various blogs, eater, nj1015, New York Shakespeare Instagram Live, The Cindy Grosz Show, and The New York Times.

Zaidy’s War, the memoir of his grandfather’s unreal WWII experience, launched Martin on an international, multi-venue public speaking/podcast/Zoom talk/book club tour that remains ongoing.

His latest, The Dad Jokes Haggadah is his thirteenth book. He’ll eat it up, he loves it so.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Penetrating curiosity, resilience investigator, refusal to let go of any mysteries, puzzles, questions, and open-ended threads, in any area of life.

Never stop asking questions; never stop looking for answers. Stick to it, whatever “it” is.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

Traveling my head off. Retirement – or a life where I can write 24/7 – is something I’ve wanted to get to since starting my professional career.

I’d be on a cruise boat for that decade, disembarking at ports and enjoying the world.

If I didn’t have a decade left, it’s still something I’d like to get to do.

I’ve been to 41 states and 23 countries, and it’s not enough. I turned 50 this past year, and I’m in good health, but the clock is ticking.

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