Isn't there a more easy way to deal with all the .jar file paths you have to add to classpath?

Beijing fairly new to Java, I find it kind of "weird" having to add so many .jar files to the classpath each time you add something (like WebDriver just now.)

Another question (probably a stupid one):
If you are told to : Add $WEBDRIVER_HOME/common/build/webdriver-common.jar to the CLASSPATH
In this "instruction" do they mean replace $WEBDRIVER_HOME with the actual path to the webdriver home folder, or do you have to configure a variable $WEBDRIVER_HOME somewhere (maybe add it to environment variables?)