Another question to be asked, from all those espousing secular education as a preparation for life/parnossa, is whether the "Al Taharas Hakodesh" Lubavitch curriculum is optimized towards preparing for Shlichus?
I would not be surprised, if educational experts were to be invited to chime in, and be given the ultimate purpose of Shlichus (of which only a percentage of actual work is directly related to what's studied in Yeshiva), they would design an entirely different curriculum. Public speaking, language skills, communication skills, counseling skills, etc. would take center stage of such a curriculum. Yet, our yeshivas do not focus on any of those.
So our yeshivas don't properly prepare kids for jobs or shlichus. Cool.
I disagree with this. Preparation for shlichus is limud haTorah. It's not just my opinion, it's something I've heard from many shluchim including Berel Lazar, who you might think would have benefited from some sort of communications or politics class.
To be sure, the Rebbe demanded shluchim use their talents and skills, and they should certainly hone those skills and improve them. But their job is to be mekabel pnei Moshiach tzidkeinu by being meifitz chassidus and getting yidden to do mitzvos. Their job is not to deliver speeches, give invocations, or write editorials. Sure, those are important tools, but they are only tools with which to impart all the knowledge they picked up in their years in yeshivah.
As in my above example, a shliach's success is not due to his public speaking, writing or counseling acumen. When I was 14 years old on mivtzoim and a man sought my counsel on his failing business, troubled familial relationships and more, he obviously wasn't seeking
my advice, but he was benefiting from my compassion. Not that I'm an especially kind personality, just that I happened to be the Rebbe's shliach to that person in that moment. And I did help him out, otherwise why would he keep seeking my counsel every week? My age, skills and knowledge had nothing to do with it, any comfort I brought to that Jew was with the power vested in me by the Rebbe.
In many ways, shluchim are like audacious 14 year old know nothing kids. They are the Rebbe's men on the spot. Sure one might be able to deliver a pilpul, another a punchline, and yet another might be able to explain bilti baal gvul without illustrations. But the power they have to effect the world in the grand way they do comes from the Rebbe, and no amount of vocational training will change that.
By the way, there are some yeshivas that do offer such classes. In fact, a relative of mine told me of a public speaking class in which they had to deliver a speech based on the techniques and skills learned in the class. He gave a speech which had all the bochurim laughing and engaged, but "failed" (I don't believe the class counted for anything) and upset the instructor who complained he didn't use the specific formula he had taught.
Sure, each school could use improvement in any number of areas, just as that public speaking teacher probably wasn't the best guy for the job. But to say that a yeshivah that only teaches bochurim nigleh and chassidus without vocational instruction is not preparing them for shlichus is like saying a medical school that only teaches medicine without communication studies isn't preparing students to become doctors.
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