Here we have a lesson in chinuch too. If you want your child to excel, shower him with honor. Believe in him. Consider him to be great. This will inspire your child to grow and achieve his potential.
A bachur from Reb Isser Zalman Meltzer's yeshiva once developed an innovative Torah thought. Reb Isser Zalman requested mashkeh, and the entire yeshiva drank lechayim because of their joy from this bachur's discovery in Torah. The bachur said that for the next half-year, he studied diligently due to the honor he received that day.
The Or Zarua discusses lessons that can be learned from the order of the alef beis. For the letters ר 'ק 'צ, he explains that the first letter, 'צ, is written like this: י"צד, which means empty (Onkelos on ובהו תהו writes, ורקניא צדיא, “empty and void”) representing the empty people, the sinners. How can we bring them to teshuvah? The answer is 'ר 'ק, roshei teivos for רבי קריא, "call him rebbe." This is what Rebbe did to bring back Reb Yossi. Build his self-esteem, and he will reach his full potential.
After suffering the tzaros of World War Two, a chassidishe bachur strayed off the path to the extent that he planned to marry a non-Jewish woman r”l. People tried to convince him not to commit this grave sin, to no avail. His mind was set, and he ignored all word of mussar.
Reb Gad'l Eizner zt'l approached and engaged him in friendly talk. When the bochur told him of his plans, Reb Gad’l replied in passing, בחור חסידישע א פאר נישט פאסט'ס, “It isn’t right for a chassidishe bachur.” That straightforward rebuke turned him around. It was rebuke coated in pride. He was honored with the title "chassidishe bachur" and wanted to continue being worthy of that status.
It states (Mishlei 3:11), תמאס אל בני 'ה מוסר. The Yesod HoAvodah explains the words 'ה מוסר, Hashem gives mussar by saying בני, "You are my son! תמאס אל, Don’t defile yourself with impure deeds."
Reb Yankele Galinsky zt’l related that when he was interned in Siberian, one of his cellmates would regularly get up in the middle of the night, get dressed in full army uniform, and march about the room, pretending to give orders to his underlings.
One night, Reb Yankele asked him why he did this. The prisoner was embarrassed. He hadn’t realized he was being observed. Reb Yankele promised not to tell anyone; he was just curious about this strange custom. The prisoner replied, "I was a powerful general in the German army. Hundreds of soldiers were under my command. I don’t want to forget my glorious past. I put on my military uniform with all my medals and pretend I'm once again in command of hundreds of soldiers. This gives me strength to endure the humiliation and affliction we suffer here in this Russian prison.”
Reb Yankele told this story to remind us that we are the King’s sons and must never forget our glorious past.
The Rambam (Avos 2:13) writes, עצמך בפני רשע תהי ואל “Don’t consider yourself a rasha, because if you think lowly about yourself, you won’t consider your aveiros severe."
It states (39:12), בבגדו ותתפשהו, "She grabbed [Yosef] by his clothes." בבגדו also means rebellion. The Beis Avraham explains that eishes Potiphar tried to convince Yosef that he was a rebellious and sinful person, so why not transgress this aveirah too?
The Yevanim ordered the Yidden to write on oxen’s horns, ישראל באלקי חלק לכם שאין, that they don’t have a portion with the G-d of Yisrael. They didn't want them to feel connected to Hashem. They didn't want them to feel important. That thought alone could lead to sin, chalilah, and cause people to ignore their obligations to Hashem.
