Baal teshuva
In Judaism, a ba'al teshuvah is a Jew from a secular background who becomes religiously observant.
Originally, the term referred to a Jew who transgressed the halakhah knowingly or unknowingly and completed a process of introspection to "return" to the full observance of God's mitzvot. According to the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides, the Talmud says that a true "ba'al teshuvah" stands higher in shamayim than a "frum from birth", even higher than a tzadik:
In contemporary times, the phrase is primarily used to refer to a Jew from a secular background who becomes religiously observant later in life. The alternative term, chozer b'teshuvah, plural chozrim b’teshuvah, is more commonly used in Israel.
