\u201cFort Worth has just made it easy to maintain our Western roots,\u201d Rozanne Rosenthal said. \u201cThe Stockyards have never really left the Rosenthal family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rozanne Rosenthal reflected on her and her husband\u2019s family\u2019s legacy ahead of the first Jewish Heritage Night at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo on Feb. 5. On Thursday, members of the Jewish community will gather for the rodeo\u2019s semifinal round, celebrate their religious and cultural heritage and reflect on the legacy of Jewish contributions woven into the fabric of the city\u2019s Western life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Jewish-Monitor.jpg\")
The Jewish Monitor, March 5, 1920. The lively weekly, published in Fort Worth, circulated from Oklahoma to Louisiana, mixing religious symbolism with national pride. (Courtesy photo | Hollace Weiner, Klau Library, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati)<\/p>\n
Cowboy culture is about freedom, morality and doing the right thing, said Rabbi Andrew Bloom of Congregation Ahavath Sholom in southwest Fort Worth. It blends with principles in the Jewish faith such as helping those in need, freedom and supporting one another, he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cowboy culture and Judaism are \u201ctwo sides of the same coin,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHere in Fort Worth, having Jewish Heritage Night is a recognition of that duality of purpose, duality of beliefs, of values,\u201d Bloom said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rabbi will deliver the invocation at the rodeo Thursday night. He first blessed the rodeo in 2015, which was the first time any Jewish clergy had done so. He also sits on a faith committee for the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.<\/p>\n
The way Bloom sees it, Fort Worth is the \u201cbuckle of the Bible Belt,\u201d and each community is a rhinestone within that buckle, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/weinberg-ranch-gate-1-683x1024.jpg\")
Abe Weinberg (1899-1975), a Russian immigrant, bought 70 acres near Burleson and designed a ranch gate with his name and a shiny Star of David. The gate was visible for decades to drivers traveling north on Interstate 35. ( Courtesy photo | Hollace Weiner, Carolyn Bauman Cruz, for Texas Jewish Historical Society, 2007) <\/p>\n
Having a Jewish Heritage Night ensures that the faith is \u201cnot only in the buckle of Fort Worth, but it\u2019s in the buckle of the stock show and rodeo,\u201d Bloom said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jewish impact in Fort Worth, Texas cowboy culture<\/p>\n
The Jewish community in Fort Worth and Texas have made numerous contributions to the region\u2019s Western culture, said Barry Ables, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Fort Worth and Tarrant County.<\/p>\n
Billy Rosenthal\u2019s grandfather, a Russian Jewish immigrant, rented a meat locker, bought beef from Fort Worth\u2019s Stockyards, processed it and sold it door-to-door when he started his business, the Fort Worth Report previously reported<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nearly a century later, the company is in its fourth generation of family ownership, and the Rosenthal name has become legendary in local and national business, community and philanthropy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Other notable local Jewish community members honored for contributions to Western culture include the Luskey family, inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame <\/a>in 2018 for the family\u2019s Western wear stores.\u00a0<\/p>\n Frances Rosenthal Kallison was the first Jewish woman inducted in the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. She was born in Fort Worth in 1908 and is known as a pioneer horsewoman and historian, according to the Texas State Historical Association<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Her father and grandfather were among the founding members of Beth-El Congregation, a Reform Jewish Synagogue in Fort Worth chartered in 1902.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWith all of this heritage, with all of this activity going on specifically related to the rodeo, doing the heritage night through the rodeo seemed like a natural fit,\u201d Ables said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Looking back, it\u2019s important to recognize the various founding families of Fort Worth and how everybody worked side by side, in building the city many call home today, Rozanne Rosenthal said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jewish Heritage Night joins other days where the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo recognizes other cultures embedded in Western culture, such as the Best of Mexico Celebraci\u00f3n<\/a> and the Cowboys of Color Rodeo<\/a>, Rozanne Rosenthal noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a wonderful thing that shows that our heritage is a part of a very diverse one,\u201d she said. \u201cThe building of this community is the most beautiful thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Disclaimer: Billy and Rozanne Rosenthal are financial supporters of the Fort Worth Report.<\/p>\n Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cover-photo-3-788x1024.jpg\")
Justin Boots, designed and photographed by Ellen Appel, 2007, for \u201cLone Stars of David: The Jews of Texas,\u201d Brandeis University Press. (Courtesy photo | Hollace Weiner)<\/p>\n