Michael Cohen's red string bracelet draws attention
Trump's former lawyer wears an accessory associated with Kabbalah to his congressional hearing.
By AMY SPIROMichael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019(photo credit: REUTERS/CARLOS BARRIA)
Sitting before Congress for hours on Wednesday, Michael Cohen accused US President Donald Trump of lying, cheating, and a range of allegedly criminal behavior.But some people who watched Trump’s former lawyer testify in Congress had their minds focused elsewhere: on a thin, red string bracelet around his left wrist.The sight of the simple string tied around his wrist led to plenty of speculation about its origin and purpose. And most seemed to conclude that the Jewish attorney was wearing the bracelet as a Kabbalah-inspired talisman.While many Birthright participants return home with a red string they picked up at the Kotel adorning their wrists, the Jewish origin of the bracelet is a little murky. The website MyJewishLearning.com notes that “wearing a red string bracelet to ward off evil is not a practice deeply rooted in Jewish text and tradition, but it seems to have struck a chord in contemporary spiritual circles and is apparently meaningful to many people.”Madonna first donned a red string bracelet when she began practicing Kabbalah years ago, and many other Hollywood celebrities have since been spotted wearing them.The Kabbalah Centre sells a “red string package” for $26, claiming that “Kabbalah teaches that we can remove intrusive negative influences by using tools such as the Red String.”And many people drew a similar connection on Wednesday to Cohen’s red accessory.Celebrity gossip site The Blast ran a story titled “Michael Cohen Rocks Kabbalah Bracelet During Testimony,” and the Jewish Daily Forward noted the string on its Instagram account.Dozens of Twitter users also spied the bracelet, with many wondering about its significance and others confidently linking it to Kabbalah.Of course, it may be too little too late for Cohen, who is slated to enter federal prison in May regardless.
