On a bright Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 25, the Central Quad at Rice University hummed with purpose. Students moved from table to table. Some rolled up their sleeves to donate blood, others assembled sandwiches for people without homes and still others crafted colorful cards for young hospital patients. Nearby, volunteers swabbed students’ cheeks so they could join the Gift of Life bone marrow registry.
The program was all part of Chabad at Rice’s annual Mitzvah Marathon, a high-energy day devoted to performing as many good deeds as possible in just a few hours.
“It felt really meaningful to be a part of the Mitzvah Marathon and run an event that not only gives back to the Jewish community but to everyone,” said Alex Ben Yishai, a first-year student from New York City. “It was amazing to see how everyone who passed by was so enthusiastic and ready to participate in small acts of kindness.”
While rooted in Jewish tradition, the Mitzvah Marathon drew participation from across the Rice community. Students of diverse backgrounds stopped to donate blood, assemble care packages or register as bone marrow donors. Many learned for the first time about the Jewish concept of mitzvah.
What began as a campus Jewish initiative became a shared expression of service. Mitzvah was embraced not just in word but in action.
“The Mitzvah Marathon provides light to the world in what might otherwise be viewed as dark and uncertain times,” said Rabbi Shmuel Slonim, co-director of Chabad at Rice. “The Mitzvah Marathon makes a difference in this world, one step at a time and one small action at a time.
“We sometimes get bogged down by overthinking and suffering in the darkness. But lighting a candle – or in this sense, performing an act of service – is a way to dispel the darkness and be a contributor to making this world a better place.”
The concept of the Mitzvah Marathon originated in 2002, shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, as a response rooted in Jewish tradition: When confronted with tragedy, answer with goodness. Over the years, the initiative has spread to campuses nationwide. At Rice, it has become one of the most anticipated community events of the year.
For many, the event captures something deeper about Jewish life on campus. Throughout the year, Chabad at Rice serves as a gathering place for weekly Shabbat dinners, holiday celebrations, classes and candid conversations about identity and resilience. The Mitzvah Marathon brings that same spirit outdoors, translating learning into action and connection into contribution.
In recent years, as college students nationwide have navigated social tensions and rising hostility online, Chabad has increasingly become a space where students can process, ask questions and find strength in community. The Marathon channels that strength outward, reminding participants that agency begins with action.
As the afternoon wound down, the Quad gradually returned to its usual rhythm. But the ripple effects of those few hours – in hospital rooms brightened by handmade cards, in lives sustained by blood donations and in the confidence of students who chose to act – will endure.
In a world often defined by headlines of division, the Mitzvah Marathon offered a quieter, steadier message: The most powerful response to darkness is light, and light multiplies when shared.
Murry Cohen, who lives close to the Rice campus, joined the event for the second time. Together with high school students visiting from the Rio Grande Valley, he made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
“I again saw the energy, compassion, good deeds and community building it provides,” said Cohen. “It attracts more than Rice students. Rice, Houston and Jews all need this demonstration of Jewish values.”