A story in this vein is told about Rav Meir Shapiro, the founder of Yeshiva Chachmei Lublin and the innovator of Daf Yomi:
When he was young, Rav Meir came to his Rebbe, Rav Yisrael of Chortkov, and asked for a berachah to be chosen for the rabbonus of Lublin. The Rebbe answered him, “Not Lublin, but a city close to Lublin.” Rav Meir returned home, and within a short time, the rabbonus of Galina, a small town not too distant from Lublin, was offered to him. He returned to the Chortkover, and expressed his amazement at the Rebbe’s clear Ruach HaKadosh.
But the Rebbe said, “This, any good friend can make happen.” The gabbai who was standing there asked the Rebbe in jest, “If good friends can make yeshuos come, then why do we need a Rebbe?”
And the Rebbe responded, “To be on the level of wishing your friend well from the depths of your heart, one needs to have attained true ahavas Yisrael, and to attain such a level, one needs to be a Rebbe!”
