The Bond Between Rebbe and Talmid

Rav Hutner taught that the bond between a talmid and his rebbe must not rest on any outside reason, even a lofty one such as the rebbe having ruach hakodesh. Such a reason, he said, is itself a flaw in how the talmid accepts his rebbe. The bond comes from a spiritual pleasure the talmid finds in his rebbe’s words, leadership and conduct, a pleasure beyond words and beyond the intellect. The deeper the bond, the more the talmid can take in. He added that a rav’s love for his talmidim is only natural, since their relationship is formed through Torah. If a rav loves Torah but not his talmidim, his love of Torah is worth nothing.