Baal teshuva

In Judaism, a ba'al teshuvah (Hebrew: בעל תשובה‎; for a woman, בעלת תשובה‎, baalat teshuva or baalas teshuva; plural, בעלי תשובה‎, baalei teshuva, "master of return [to God]") is a Jew from a secular background who becomes religiously observant.

Originally, the term referred to a Jew who transgressed the halakhah (Jewish law) knowingly or unknowingly and completed a process of introspection to "return" to the full observance of God's mitzvot. (Baal teshuvah literally means in Hebrew "master of return" i.e., one who has "returned" to God.[1]) According to the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides, the Talmud says that a true ba'al teshuvah stands higher in shamayim (lit. "heaven") than a "frum from birth", even higher than a tzadik:[2]

The sages said: "The place whereon the penitent stand the wholly righteous could not stand;" as if saying: "their degree is above the degree of those who ever did not sin, because it is more difficult for them to subdue their passion than for the others.[3]

In contemporary times, the phrase is primarily used to refer to a Jew from a secular background who becomes religiously observant (normally in an Orthodox fashion) later in life. The alternative term, chozer b'teshuvah (חוזר בתשובה‎), plural chozrim b’teshuvah, is more commonly used in Israel.[4]