"Whenever he spoke of yeshivaleit he would say, 'When will we receive true gedolim? When? Rabbonim we have plenty of, but who will bring us the genuine gedolim?'
"He wanted and demanded that bnei Torah be true gedolei Torah. Even from the older students he constantly demanded more and more.
"HaGaon HaRav Aharon Kotler zt'l was once speaking to HaGaon HaRav Elchonon Wassermann Hy'd and told him that once he spoke to the Chofetz Chaim when all of a sudden, in the middle of the conversation the Chofetz Chaim said, 'When you begin a maseches you must always finish it. Don't leave it in the middle.' Rav Aharon later thought about what the Chofetz Chaim had said and realized that he was actually guilty of doing just that. On many occasions he had begun a masechta, learned a little, and then left it there. 'How did he know that?' Rav Aharon asked Reb Elchonon. Reb Elchonon answered, 'The same thing happened to me! I was discussing something with the Chofetz Chaim when suddenly he interrupted me and said that after beginning a maseches one must finish it. 'Genuine ruach hakodesh!' both Rav Aharon and Reb Elchonon agreed."
