You Don't See Too Many Jewish Cowboys

Well, it finally happened. 8 months after moving to Texas the Rodeo Rabbi has finally attended his 1st Rodeo! Everyone told us about one of the highlights of the year, when the Rodeo comes to town in March. But until we experienced it ourselves we couldn't really appreciate it. The amount of things going on and people attending is astounding. There are carnival rides, concerts, livestock shows, and of course, Rodeo competitions. Watching these guys saddle up on top of a raging Bull or bucking Bronco, and then holding on for dear life as the animal shoots out of the pen jumping and kicking, is unbelievable. They even had a kiddy version where little 5 year olds hold on to a running sheep for as long as they can before falling off! They take their Rodeo seriously around these parts.

So what's the take home message? I'm not exactly sure. But maybe it has something to do with conquering your fears and taking risks to prove to yourself and others that you are up for the challenge. There's a certain Cowboy Up mentality that says strap on those boots and figure out a way to get the job done.

Earlier this week I had a chance to Cowboy Up to some degree as well. After a fun weekend in Dallas with the Beren Basketball Entourage, we decided to stop in neighboring Fort Worth for a few hours Sunday before driving back to Houston. Fort Worth is famous for its historic stockyards, and we figured if we've travelled all this way we had to see what it was all about. Well, let's just say we were not disappointed. In fact, I would definitely go back next time I get the chance. The stockyards is to Cowboys what Colonial Williamsburg is to Colonists. It's a village of a few blocks where you can really get a a taste of the old western life. Shortly after we arrived they had the herding of the longhorns through the streets. If you've never seen a longhorn in person you can't imagine how enormous these bulls (and their horns) are. Seeing 10 of them march right by you is intimidating. Later, I actually got to sit on a longhorn and take a picture as well. That was pretty cool. We also took a horse and buggy ride around the village. Our driver was a former Rodeo performer who was having hip replacement surgery due to his many Rodeo mishaps. There was also a really cool maze that we took the kids through. It was once featured on the show The Amazing Race. The kids and I ran through the many paths and dead ends looking for the letters M-A-Z-E before we could exit. Elisheva stood on an elevated platform guiding us along. It took a good 20 minutes to finish. And it reminded me of the passage in the 3rd perk of Mesilat Yesharim where the Ramchal uses this very marshal of a person in a maze taking guidance from someone on a raised platform to describe why we need Rebbeim and mentors to look towards for guidance. We didnt even get to the Cowboy Hall of Fame, or Billy Bob's, the biggest Honky Tonk in the world. But my favorite part of the stockyards was being able to cross off from my bucket list something I've always wanted to do: ride a mechanical bull. Don't ask me why I've always wanted to do this. It just seemed like a cool thing to do once in your life. Well, it did not disappoint. I held on for about a minute before flying off. It was really fun, and the best part was when the guy running the machine said "you don't see too many Jewish Cowboys."

He's right. I may not be a real cowboy like the ones I saw this week. But as the Rodeo Rabbi I'd like to think I too have some of the Cowboy Up spirit. There are challenges, always, but you can either make excuses or figure out a solution. So next time you are a little nervous about a challenge confronting you, put on your Rodeo boots, roll up those sleeves, give a good old yeehaw, and Cowboy Up.