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Harvey Belovski, rabbi at Golders Green United Synagogue: 
This week marks 30 years since I left university. I learned a fair amount in my course, but three decades later that seems less important than what I gained in other areas. I made life-long friends, took some important decisions and, best of all, met my wife and life-partner. I had a wonderful time at university, even though I certainly could and should have worked harder. And I’m amused to recall that I actually wasn’t allowed to graduate until I’d paid to repair the hole I’d carelessly burned in my bedroom carpet with a frying pan. I was fortunate – I had a plan for the next few years and a hole in a carpet was my greatest concern. But the world has changed. 
At the time I graduated, it was relatively easy to fall into a good job, something that’s sadly no longer true. From my work supporting Jewish students and my regular campus visits, I know that what happens after college can be a real bother. It’s in my mind at the moment, as over 100,000 UK students are graduating in the next few weeks and while some have jobs arranged or other plans, many are worrying what they will do next. This reminds me of the story of a woman who reports for work on her first day at a supermarket and asks for her first task. Her manager hands her a broom and tells her to sweep the floor. 
The new employee is quite affronted and turns to her manager and snaps, ‘do you realise that I’m a university graduate?’ The boss says, ‘don’t worry – I’ll show you how to use it!’ Joking apart, even for those who have acquired marketable skills, graduation can be a worrying time for students uncertain about the future. The great 2nd-century Jewish teacher, Yehoshua ben Perachiah, offered some guidance that might help. He said simply, ‘acquire yourself a friend’. This means that we all need someone in our lives to whom we can turn for advice, share our joys and challenges. It’s advice that may be useful not just for this month’s graduates but for anyone with a challenge at work, with a relationship or about the direction of their lives. It takes work – hence ‘acquire’ a friend, but I believe that sharing a problem really can halve it.