Foundation is deeply tied to the rectification of the covenant (tikkun ha Brit). Rebbe Tzaddok HaKohen, quoting his teacher the Izbicer Rebbe, the Mei HaShiloach, returns to the midrash we saw earlier (in the sefirah of might) regarding the verse “And the plowman shall meet the harvester,” with Joseph likened to the harvester and Judah to the plowman. Joseph is the consummate tzaddik—the righteous individual—who stands firm in the face of tests, particularly those connected to the covenant. Rebbe Tzaddok explains that Judah represents the ba’al teshuvah who endeavors to rectify the blemish of the covenant. This is because Judah who experienced failure and got up again, embodying the ba’al teshuvah, in contrast to Joseph the tzaddik who never fell.
This is precisely what the Izbicer Rebbe teaches: even when someone stumbles in a matter for which it is said there is no repentance, they should not despair. They possess azut d’kedusha (holy boldness) and firmness. The mark of a true ba’al teshuvah is a resolute and determined personality. On the other hand, a consummate tzaddik is not firm; he is gentle.
This is one of the foundational principles of Izbica and later Rebbe Tzaddok, who inherited it from his teacher. A ba’al teshuvah who is despondent—as, unfortunately, many are—is not a true ba’al teshuvah at all. A genuine ba’al teshuvah is characterized by boldness. His boldness is reflected in the verse, “I am impoverished, but He [God] saves me.” He does not despair but approaches God boldly, even when he falls repeatedly, he persists, and in the end, he gets up. As the Mitteler Rebbe writes in Derech Chaim regarding the blemish of the covenant: God takes pleasure even in those who struggle to fully overcome their failings. Even if they fall, their persistent efforts to succeed and rectify their actions bring God pleasure.
