By a magid shiur in an out-of-town yeshiva

There’s been a lot of discussion recently about the role of shluchim in yeshiva. I remember when I was on shlichus myself, having farbrengens and conversations about what exactly our goal and focus was supposed to be.

And while the answer is clear from many sichos and yechidusen — that the Rebbe wanted bochurim to sit and learn and be a dugma chaya — I think a little context is important.

First of all, this expectation that shluchim come to yeshivos and immediately start mivtzoim, become part of the hanhalah, tutor bochurim, organize programs, etc., was not something the yeshivos pushed onto them. It was pushed by the shluchim themselves.

The Rebbe sent bochurim to yeshivos, and it was obvious that many places were not always fully “up to date” with the latest shturem in 770. The bochurim came and brought that fire with them. א שליח מאכט א סביבה. Naturally, a shliach who was passionate about hiskashrus, mivtzoim, learning, yiras shomayim, or whatever it was, tried to influence the younger bochurim around him. And many times they were more successful than older mashpiim who, fairly or unfairly, felt less relatable.

If anything, maybe the issue was when certain kevutzos took this to an extreme and turned it into the ikar of shlichus instead of a result of it.

Personally, I credit my year of shlichus as the year I grew the most as a bochur. Being looked at as a role model and semi-staff member forced me to become more mature and more selfless. I became very close with hanhalah — honestly much closer than I ever was with mashpiim when I was in yeshiva — and I got a firsthand look at chinuch, responsibility. I learnt how to block out the noise of my “askanus” and return to learning and I even developed some basic fundraising techniques.

A lot of what I learned that year still helps me today in my own shlichus and family life.

And I think this is important: even for bochurim who won’t eventually go on full-time shlichus, there’s tremendous value in spending a year focused on giving instead of receiving. Whether someone eventually goes into business, chinuch, or anything else, that year changes a person.

To turn shlichus into basically just another year of seder feels like a disservice both to the shluchim and to the yeshivos.

That being said, the yeshivos also have a responsibility to support the shluchim properly in their own learning. There should be maggidei shiur available and interested in learning with them, answering their questions, and helping them continue growing seriously in learning during that year. Shlichus shouldn’t mean that a bochur is left to figure everything out on his own.

At the same time, if shluchim are tutoring bochurim and helping with chinuch issues, there should also be some level of guidance and direction there. Honestly, one thing that still blows me away is that we’ve had generations of shluchim tutoring struggling bochurim en masse, yet almost nobody was ever given even basic tutoring training. It’s a shud di tzeit.

This is also why I’m a little concerned by what I hear about changes to the current shlichus system, where there seems to be more emphasis on each bochur choosing where he wants to go. I may not know all the details, but I think there’s something important about accepting the challenge of being sent somewhere uncomfortable.

Feel that you’re on shlichus. Don’t just look for the place where it’s easiest to be a “tzaddik in peltz.”

May we all be zoche to truly fulfill our shlichus — whether as Bochurim or wherever else we end up in the world and turn to Moshiach and say ראו גידולים שגדלתי.