The verse states,²⁰⁵ “The righteous (Tzaddik) shall flourish like a date-palm, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” There are two kinds of Tzaddikim, both of whom are perfectly righteous. The difference between them is as follows: One is always in a state of adhesion to HaShem, blessed is He, and performs the service that is placed upon him. However, he is righteous for himself only and not for his fellow. In other words, he does not influence righteousness upon others. This type of Tzaddik is compared to a cedar, about which our sages, of blessed memory, stated,²⁰⁶ “it does not produce fruit.” That is, he is righteous unto himself, but does not produce fruits, meaning that he does not bring others to goodness so that the righteous will propagate in the world. Instead, he serves HaShem on his own. Nonetheless, “he shall grow” and his reward will be greatly increased.

footnotes: ²⁰⁵ Psalms 92:13 ²⁰⁶ Talmud Bavli, Ta’anit 25b

However, the second kind of Tzaddik produces fruit, as indicated by the words, “He flourishes like the date-palm.” In other words, “he brings an honorable person out from a glutton,”²⁰⁷ increasing goodness in the world and causing it to flourish. About this kind of Tzaddik our sages, of blessed memory, stated,²⁰⁸ “In the place where penitents (Baalei Teshuvah) stand, even the perfectly righteous cannot stand.” In other words, this kind of Tzaddik is called a “Master of Repentance – Ba’al Teshuvah. The term master-Ba’al-בעל means that he has mastered repentance and returns the multitudes to goodness, distancing them from sin, and he thus brings about repentance in the world at large. Even though the first kind of Tzaddikreceives great reward, the reward of this second kind of Tzaddik is doubled and quadrupled to a far greater degree.

footnotes: ²⁰⁷ Jeremiah 15:19 ²⁰⁸ Talmud Bavli, Brachot 34b