Midterm Exams

In the Torah, as well as some Midrashim (rabbinic interpretations) that state: doing a mitzvah (commandment or good deed) completely is like fulfilling the whole Torah. For example, it says about Shabbat, "When one keeps Shabbat, it is as though he had fulfilled the whole Torah." What does this mean? How does have anything to do with me, as a University student?

This statement teaches us that if we do something with all of our heart and with all of our focus, we will have suceeded in fulfilling our obligations. Can you imagine if we always did things like that? So the lesson that we get as University students is that we must focus our attention to our tasks at hand. There are many things here at school that are very distracting, like friends, parties, the hustle and bustle of campus life, but we must learn to focus ourselves to really involve ourselves in what matters personally to us or what we must accomplish.

In the midst of Midterms, this lesson is particularly true. Here I am, sitting in the library attempting to study for my two exams tomorrow when I'd rather do something else, trust me. However, I sit here and try, with all of my energy, to focus on my task, because if I accomplish my goals here with all of my focus and determination, I can move to something else, using that same momentum to succeed somewhere else.

Good luck to all of you who have exams.

Jeremy Markiz