“The ordinary man who has been granted contact with the holy person is thereby brought into a certain contact with true holiness.
In this sense, the higher the level of a saintly person’s holiness, the more is he like an angel (and in a way even more than an angel), acting as a vehicle of holiness by transmitting divine plenty from one world to another and bestowing such plenty upon whomever he chooses, through his blessings, his actions, his prayers.
The individual who makes inner contact with such a holy person, showing him love and devotion, thereby supports the flow of divine plenty in the world.
This is what has been meant in Jewish tradition, from time immemorial, when devotion has been shown to those persons who are superior in holiness or have an aura of sanctity.
The gift is given such blessed men to create a bond of some sort that will draw them nearer, whether the holy person is connected to God by being a great scholar of the Torah or whether he is just a saintly individual in his life.
To honor, revere, and love the holy person is a mitzvah in itself, besides serving as a means for direct contact with holiness.”
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
From The Thirteen Petalled Rose by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz