The following story happened not so long ago.
An educational supervisor was very impressed by a young student he tested at one of the Yeshivos he visited. Yaakov was gifted with amazing talents and was very smart. Although his job was to check out the teachers, he made note to keep track of this young student.
On his next visit to the Yeshiva when testing the students he noticed that Yaakov wasn't there. He asked the students where he was but they all remained silent.
In the Principal's office he learned the true story. Yaakov had become friendly with some bad friends and they had been caught in the act of a robbery, breaking into someone's house on Yom Kippur, when the boys knew that everyone was in Shul.
The Principal said that once Yaakov realized that his friends knew what happened he was too embarrassed to return to school and even hang around the neighborhood.
He went to another school with a dorm in a different city to try and start a fresh.
When the Supervisor got home, he sat down to write Yaakov a letter.
'Dear Yaakov, I came to visit your school today and I never saw you. I missed your sharp mind and brilliant answers. I asked about you and was told you changed schools. I hope you are doing well. Please reply and send me an update how you're doing. I have enclosed 100 shekels pocket money for you. If you need more please let me know.'
Yaakov received the letter and burst out crying. He was sure that everyone was speaking badly about him and spreading around bad tales about him. And here the Supervisor visited the Yeshiva and hasn't heard anything. He still believes in him and has confidence that he can succeed.
Yaakov decided that he wasn't going to let him down. Until now he had been depressed, but now he had a fresh burst of energy. He sent the Supervisor a letter and updated him how he was doing. A few weeks later another letter arrived with another 100 shekels. This went on month after month. The boy pulled himself together, became a very successful student, got married and became a very successful Rebbi himself.
The power of encouragement!
