Chokhmah

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:

People

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.

There are passages in Matthew and Gospel of Luke where Yeshua (Jesus) compares himself to Chokmah, referring to Proverbs as the one who speaks out in the market place and so on. A few Christians have incorporated this into their apologetics, claiming this as synoptic evidence for the divinity of Christ (Christ the Logos).

In Kabbalah

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."

See also

• Hikmah
• Sophia (wisdom)
• Chokhmah (Kabbalah)
• Nena, singer with an album "Chokmah"

External links

• Torah Wisdom, A story from the Talmud of the great Aba Chilkiya