Is This the Real Reason American Pharaoh Won the Triple Crown?
Our last post discussed American Pharaoh's Triple Crown win to illustrate a lesson about the generally false belief that "This time is different." But a story in the New York Post recounting a visit by the winning jockey, Victor Espinoza, to the grave of the Jewish Rebbe Menachem Schneerson, seeking his blessing before the race may hold additional valuable lessons for us.
It seems the owners of the horse are Orthodox Jews of the sect which the Rebbe Schneerson led.
Interestingly, it seems the jockey also received a blessing from a Rabbi - this one living - before the Preakness. Rabbi Sholom Ber Korf noted:
But in addition to caring about others, we find one more lesson here. And that concerns God. Espinoza reports that he prays ten times a day. Again, if the Post article is to be believed, apparently God is important to this man. Notice how he helps others, and also makes time for prayer?
Do you pray? If not, is it because you don't believe in God, or is it because you just don't bother? If the former, it's understandable. But what about the latter? Have you joined the ranks of either the agnostics who simply don't think God has any place in human thought or discourse, or those who find everything except for God worth their time and effort?
So if Lesson #1 is care as much, if not more, for others as for winning and money, then Lesson #2 would be care about God. And we can't emphasize this one enough. You may have noticed that lately we've seen more and more pressure brought to bear on people who not only believe in God, but would dare to speak of God publicly. It's as if talking about God in a public place oppresses others, or marks you as somehow intolerant or as some sort of "religious nut." Rather than care about God, too many of us have thrown God under the bus.
Without reading too much into this article, our victorious jockey appears to be sincerely seeking the sort of balance in life that too many of us lack. He cares for others, at least in his charitable giving; he cares about God to the extent that he prays throughout the day. And, while he doesn't dwell on his desire to win and make money, he appears to manage this as well.
While neither Espinoza's balanced life nor the blessing sought from the Rebbe can exclusively account for his breaking the 37 year long Triple Crown drought, these certainly didn't hurt his chances. And in a world filling up with selfish, narcissistic people more intent on taking photos of themselves than loving God and their fellow man, this story stands out as one we can both enjoy and one in which we can take some comfort.
It seems the owners of the horse are Orthodox Jews of the sect which the Rebbe Schneerson led.
Everywhere he (Espinoza) went, he carried the book “Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History,” by Joseph Telushkin. He read King David’s Book of Psalms. He followed instructions to walk backwards out of respect when he left the gravesite.Lest we attribute the first Triple Crown victory in 37 years to the Rebbe, it seems that racing glory was not the primary reason Espinoza sought the blessing.
“I think for me the most important thing is health. … Safety and health is the most important thing in life,” Espinoza said.A most reasonable view of the world, wouldn't you say? Fortune may or may not smile on us, but I suspect that most of us, if given the choice, would choose health over fortune in the first place.
Interestingly, it seems the jockey also received a blessing from a Rabbi - this one living - before the Preakness. Rabbi Sholom Ber Korf noted:
“It was explained to me that Victor’s the type of person that doesn’t just do it for himself, he supports various charities, Cancer For Children, so a win for him is not just a win for himself, it’s a win for all the charity causes that he supports. So I felt a blessing was in order.”If the Post story is to be believed, there are a couple of lessons for us. First of all, there's more to life than winning and making money. You should know this already, of course. But experience tells us that expressing this in words flows more easy than putting it into practice. We may grasp with our intellects that there are more important things in life, but where do we spend our time? How many hours are spent working, how many with our families? When we're with our families are we really "there" or is our mind on work? Are we generous with our money, or do we prefer to horde it and/or spend it on events and things that bring us pleasure? In other words, do we care about others more than we care about winning and money?
But in addition to caring about others, we find one more lesson here. And that concerns God. Espinoza reports that he prays ten times a day. Again, if the Post article is to be believed, apparently God is important to this man. Notice how he helps others, and also makes time for prayer?
Do you pray? If not, is it because you don't believe in God, or is it because you just don't bother? If the former, it's understandable. But what about the latter? Have you joined the ranks of either the agnostics who simply don't think God has any place in human thought or discourse, or those who find everything except for God worth their time and effort?
So if Lesson #1 is care as much, if not more, for others as for winning and money, then Lesson #2 would be care about God. And we can't emphasize this one enough. You may have noticed that lately we've seen more and more pressure brought to bear on people who not only believe in God, but would dare to speak of God publicly. It's as if talking about God in a public place oppresses others, or marks you as somehow intolerant or as some sort of "religious nut." Rather than care about God, too many of us have thrown God under the bus.
Without reading too much into this article, our victorious jockey appears to be sincerely seeking the sort of balance in life that too many of us lack. He cares for others, at least in his charitable giving; he cares about God to the extent that he prays throughout the day. And, while he doesn't dwell on his desire to win and make money, he appears to manage this as well.
While neither Espinoza's balanced life nor the blessing sought from the Rebbe can exclusively account for his breaking the 37 year long Triple Crown drought, these certainly didn't hurt his chances. And in a world filling up with selfish, narcissistic people more intent on taking photos of themselves than loving God and their fellow man, this story stands out as one we can both enjoy and one in which we can take some comfort.
Comments