The Spring semester at HUC is beginning for students in the Year-in-Israel program, students on the US campus, and those of us on the Virtual Pathway to the Rabbinate, marking the completion of the first full year of the Virtual Pathway. Meanwhile, students in the Israeli program are about to end their winter semester and go on break. What an adventure! Here are my fellow VP students, a photo taken at our New York Intensive last week.

At the Start of a New Rabbinical School Semester
Source of wisdom,
Sanctify the adventure of learning
The arts and crafts of rabbinic service,
A calling to serve You,
Your people,
And Your world.
Inspire our quest for Torah,
Our zest for t’fillah,
The bequest of our ancestors,
To be blessed by Your word,
So that we become
Instruments of holiness,
Directed by Your voice,
Acquired from the teachings
Of generations of rabbis,
Handed down to our teachers,
Bequeathed to us.

May it be for good
And for goodness,
May it be for blessing
And a for life of blessing.
May it be for holiness
And for healing.

Let this learning rise up to You,
An offering of our hearts and souls,
Given with the strength of
Commitment and love.

© 2026 Alden Solovy

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Photo Source: HUC on Facebook