From the BCSG President’s Desk: Let’s Do More!
Welcome to Yeshiva University!
As we begin a new school year — for some of us our first year in college, and for others our last — we have asked teachers, mentors, family, and friends for advice. How can we make the most of our college experience? This year I served as an orientation leader with an invigorating cohort of students. Whether in sessions, at meals or on the way to a night activity, new students were filled with questions about how to make the most of their college experience. As part of the orientation staff, we tried to answer concerns as best as we could. However, a critical piece of advice lay in the parsha reading for that very week’s orientation Shabbaton.
On Shabbos morning in a filled beit midrash, we heard Parshat Eikev. As Moshe continued his farewell speech to Bnei Yisrael, he uttered a critical line:
“Ve-atah Yisrael mah Hashem shoel me-imach ki im le-yirah et Hashem Elokechah la-lechet be-chol derachav o-le-ahavah oto ve-le-avod et Hashem Elokechah be-chol levavcha o-ve-chol nafshechah. Li-shmor et mitzvot Hashem ve-et chukotav asher anochi metzavchah ha-yom la-tov lach.”
“And now, O Israel, what does the Lord, your God, ask of you? Only to fear the Lord, your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to worship the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes, which I command you this day, for your good.” (Devarim 10:12-13).
What is the one thing Hashem asks of you? To be in awe of Him and keep His mitzvot.
As you were reading this pasuk, you may have been confused. While recognizing the beginning of the pasuk, you probably felt lost by the end. Your intuition was correct — there is a famous pasuk that is extremely similar. In Sefer Micha, a strikingly similar pasuk reads as follows:
“Hegid lechah adam o-mah tov o-mah Hashem doresh mimchah ki im asot mishpat ve-ahavat chessed ve-hatzne’ah lechet im Elokechah.”
"He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord demands of you; but to do justice, to"
love loving-kindness, and to walk discreetly with your God. (Micah 6:8)" h
In this case, what is the one thing Hashem asks of you? To act properly.
What is the difference between these two pesukim? Why do they sound so similar? The key to understanding their connection and unique messages lies in the slight differences of words. In both pesukim, Hashem is asking us for something. However, different terms are used in each case to describe “asking.” In Devarim, Hashem asks — “shoel,” but in Micah, Hashem seeks — “doresh.”
In Devarim, Hashem is asking the bare minimum from us — what we are required to do. Those are the mitzvot. In contrast, Hashem is seeking us to go above and beyond in Micah. In moments that are not clearly delineated how we should act, how can we still follow Hashem’s will?
Both of these “asks” from Hashem, are relevant to our approach to the new school year. On the one hand, there are a number of things we are required to do — attend classes, do homework, and study for tests. Yet, on the other hand, there is so much more to our college experience than that. We can make an effort to meet new friends, attend networking events to kickstart our careers, and join one or more of the plethora of clubs on our campus. By doing more than what is required of us at college, we can enhance our experience and that of our whole community.
What will you seek out this year? How can you make the most of your college experience?
Photo Caption: BCSG President Shalhevet Cohen speaking with President Berman
Photo Credit: Yeshiva University
