Chokhmah, also sometimes transliterated chochma or hokhmah (חכמה) is the Hebrew word for "wisdom". It is cognate with the Arabic word Hikmah, which also means 'wisdom'. The word "chokhmah" and others derived from it may connote one of several things.
Contents |
A "wise man" is a chakham (feminine: chakhama). For example, a rabbi or person who is very learned in Torah and Talmud is called a Talmid Chacham, denoting a very "learned person" or, literally, a "wise student [of Torah knowledge]." The Talmud (Shabbat 31a) describes knowledge of the Talmudic order of Kodshim as a high level of chokhmah.
Certain Sefardic Jews refer to their rabbis as a Hakham ("wise man") and the Chief rabbi of the Ottoman Empire was called a Hakham Bashi.
In the Kabbalah of Judaism, chokhmah is the name of one of the Sefirot.
The name Chabad (חבד), of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidim, is an acronym, and the first letter (ח – "Ch") is taken from chokhmah: ח (Chokhmah) for "wisdom" – ב (Binah) for "understanding" – ד (Da'at) for "knowledge." [1]