The Radbaz was born in Spain around 1479. He was thirteen years of age when his parents, banished from Spain, settled in Safed, where he studied under the direction of Joseph Saragossi.
For unknown reasons, he left Erez Yisrael at the age of 31 or 32 and traveled to Fes, where he became a member of the beis din presided over by the nagid Isaac Sholal.In 1517, upon the abolition of the office of nagid by the Turkish government, the Radbaz moved to Cairo. There he was appointed Hakham Bashi, or Chief Rabbi of Egypt, a title he held for forty years. He was highly revered for his vast knowledge, integrity of character, and extensive philanthropy. Independently wealthy, the Radbaz was a successful merchant with business connections in other countries. The yeshiva which he founded and supported attracted many distinguished students, among them Rabbi Bezalel Ashkenazi and the Arizal.
Upon attaining the age of 90, the Radbaz resigned the chief rabbinate and divided the greater part of his fortune among the poor, making special provision for Torah scholars. He then moved to Jerusalem. But he did not stay there long, due to the burdensome taxes that the Turkish government had imposed upon Jews. He settled in Safed, where he became an active member of the rabbinical court presided over by Rabbi Yosef Karo, who held him in great esteem. He spent the last 20 years of his life in peace, continuing his learning and his writing.
The Radbaz died in Safed in 1573 at the age of 110 (some authorities say he was 94 years of age).
[From wikipedia]
The Radbaz writes as follows: עוד
אמרו בספרי החכמה כי בהיות האדם מתכוון אל רבו ונותן אליו לבו תתקשר נפשו
בנפשו ויחול עליו מהשפע אשר עליו ויהיה לו נפש יתירה וזהו שנאמר והיו
עיניך רואות את מוריך, וזהו והתיצבו שם עמך ואצלתי מן הרוח וכו' וכן התהלל
רבנו הקדוש שאם היה רואה את פני ר' מאיר היה מגיע למדרגה עליונה וזה
הטעם בעצמו בתפלה כי בהביט אדם אל אוהביו או לקרוביו או לרבו תתעורר
נפשו אל הכוונה השלימה וניתוסף עליו רוח ממרום
The books of kabbala teach us that when a person thinks of his Rebbi, his soul attaches itself to the Rebbi's soul and he thereby receives great spiritual bounty and he will have an added soul, as the pasuk says "Your eyes should see your Master" etc. Rebbi Yehuda HaNasi said that if he would see the face of Rebbi Meir he would reach a very high level of spirituality. That is why if when davening one looks at someone he loves or his Rebbi his soul will be aroused to complete devotion and a spirit will be added to him.
An additional two thoughts:
1] This is why there are siddurim [particularly Sefardi ones] with pictures of tzadikim on the cover [particularly Sefardi]. I used to think it odd because we don't daven to the tzaddik but this may be a source [אבל עיין במ"ב סי' צ' סקע"א].
2] If looking at something holy arouses a spirit of holines then the corollary is that looking at something unholy can be very damaging to the spirit. This is why we have a mechitza for davening. Looking at the ladies on the other side are liable to trigger in the male feelings not always connected to the realm of the sacrosanct מחשבות לא טובות מאד. Shuls in which the mechitza is up to the women's ankles will negatively impact the efficacy of the prayers there.
