ב"ה, יו"ד כסלו תשכ"ה
ברוקלין.
הוו"ח אי"א נו"נ עוסק בצ"צ מו"ה יוסף שי'
שלום וברכה!
... להשמועה בשם הרגוצבי: ראי' דבע"ת גדולים מצד"ג מקדושין (מט, ב) - גם אני שמעתי', אבל נ"ל דאינה אמתית, שהרי המקדש ע"מ שאני לוי ונמצא כהן ג"כ אינה מקודשת. [והטעם בקידושין עכצ"ל מפני שבלשון בנ"א גם בע"ת נקרא צדיק. וגם בל' חז"ל בל' המושאל שהרי זכה בדין -תניא פ"א].
מו"ה יוסף: הלל, לוד.
להשמועה... ראי': ראה גם לקו"ש חי"ז ע' 186 הערה 46 - 45.
B"H, 10 Kislev 5725. Brooklyn.
Havavac"h iy"a nu"n engaged in tzt"z Mohe Yosef
Shalom u'Vrachah!
Regarding the teaching attributed to the Rogatchover: as proof that baalei teshuvah are greater than tzaddikim from Kiddushin (49b) – I too have heard it, but it seems to me that it is not accurate, for if one betroths a woman on condition that he is a Levi and it turns out he is a Kohen, she is also not betrothed.
[And the reason in Kiddushin must be because in common language even a baal teshuvah is called a tzaddik. And also in the language of our Sages, in borrowed language, since he has been vindicated in judgment – see Tosefta chapter one.]
Mohe Yosef: Hillel, Lod. Regarding the teaching... Proof: See also Likkutei Sichos vol. 17 p. 186 notes 45–46.
Summary
The Rebbe clarifies that while baalei teshuvah are sometimes referred to as tzaddikim both in everyday speech and rabbinic language, this does not necessarily reflect their halachic status. Careful distinction between terminology and legal definitions is essential.