By a past shliach in yeshiva

Towards the end of last year, a bochur who was with me on mivtzoim told one of our regulars, whom we visited regularly to put on tefillin with, that this would be his last week there, as he would be moving on next year.

When the man asked where he was going and whether he would be attending a different yeshiva, he replied that no, next year he would no longer be a student at all, but would actually be one of those who run the yeshiva.

This bochur seriously believed, and this is how he explained it to others, that the purpose of shlichus is to be a program director, part of the yeshiva staff, and that he is no longer a talmid in yeshiva. 

One who looks at how the Rebbe defines the talmidim hashluchim will see that this completely runs against the way the Rebbe writes about it.

To give one example out of many, in a letter from 5731 directed to shluchim in a yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel, the Rebbe writes strongly that the purpose of the talmidim hamashluchim is to learn b’shkida v’hasmada, to be an example for others in how to learn, and not to run the yeshiva. At most, they can point out issues to hanhala, just like every other talmid in the yeshiva. If they cannot do their shlichus properly, the Rebbe continues, they should go to another yeshiva as ordinary talmidim.

In other words, it is clear that the purpose of a talmid in a yeshiva (“talmidim hashluchim”) is to learn. Nobody would say that people go to yeshiva in order to run programs. 

It is true that bochurim do go on mivtzoim, and this is what the Rebbe wants them to do in their spare time. It is also true that they may organize various activities to strengthen Yiddishkeit, and they help other bochurim in the yeshiva as well. This is the responsibility of every talmid in yeshiva. However, their primary focus must be learning Torah. Of course, this applies equally to talmidim hashluchim.

Talmidim hashluchim are talmidim, meaning their primary task is to learn in yeshiva. They may assist in mivtzoyim and other activities, and being the oldest bochurim in the yeshiva, they may have more responsibilities in these areas than other talmidim. However, this is not what defines the talmidim hashluchim.

Some talmidim hashluchim do indeed go with the correct mindset – knowing that they are going to learn in yeshiva as a talmid, both in mesivta and in zal. I found that these bochurim were the ones who had the greatest impact on me from all the talmidim hashluchim. It was amazing to see the incredible hasmada that these talmidim hashluchim learned with. At times, they would also farbreng with us, and seeing their general conduct, we were inspired to learn from them.

However, some bochurim seem to have a different mindset from the beginning, even before they arrive at the yeshiva. Their plan is that they are coming in order to be program directors. This not only has an effect on the year of shlichus, but also on the year following shlichus and even the year preceding shlichus.

You can well imagine that a bochur who feels that he was not in yeshiva while he is on shlichus will find it difficult later on, after he goes to 770 or a smicha program, to now start taking seder seriously. He hasn’t shown up in seder last year, he hasn’t felt that hanhala has any authority over him, and the next year he makes a kal vachomer: If last year I was above the level of seder and didn’t have to listen to anyone, this year most certainly I don’t!

The same thing applies to the year preceding shlichus. The Rebbe writes that in the years preceding shlichus, they should learn b’shkida v’hasmada, and that he will only send shluchim from those who are learning with hasmada (as the Rebbe wrote to someone who wanted to join the group going to Australia). However, if the purpose of the next year is not to learn in yeshiva, it has an effect on the preceding years as well.

I would suggest that perhaps from the beginning, from the year before shlichus, bochurim should already know what their purpose is the following year when they go on shlichus, and therefore prepare themselves properly and come with the right mindset: that they are coming in order to learn in yeshiva and to be a true example of a talmid, even more than any other bochur, so that they should serve as a living example of what a tomim is.

And in such a way, through their influence, the local bochurim will follow in their footsteps.

But if they themselves, chas v’shalom, are not behaving as they should, then not only are they not being mashpia positively, but on the contrary, they are being mashpia negatively. They are basically telling the bochurim that they just need to wait a few years, and they too will be free of learning.

It is imperative that we should ensure that the shluchim being sent are bochurim who have clear kabolas ol, and that they follow through on what they are coming for – to learn and to have a positive influence on the local bochurim. 

May Hashem help that this year the shlichus should be a very successful one, and we should be zoche already to the coming of Moshiach!