There is one power authority that the Torah not only sanctions but encourages in Jewish society, that of the teacher-student relationship. Our leader is not the king, nor the warrior, but the Torah scholar whose authority is that of a Rebbe over his talmidim….(However) the authority of the teacher is not imposed; no coercion or political instrument is employed. His authority emerges from his personality; his learning and selflessness are acknowledged. Not fear but affection and respect motivate one’s submission. A teacher is a master, like a king. At times, he inspires emulation of his way of thinking and his general deportment, but this does not result in the enslavement of his disciples. The students are not crimped and circumscribed; their souls are not shriveled through fear and conformity. On the contrary, there is an enlargement and growth of the total personality.
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Reflections of the Rav, p. 135