Hakham (orChakam(i), Haham(i), Hacham(i), Hach;Hebrew:חכם,romanized: ḥāḵām,lit. 'Wise') is a term inJudaism meaning a wise or skillful man; it often refers to someone who is a greatTorah scholar. It can also refer to any cultured and learned person: "He who says a wise thing is called aHakham, even if he be not a Jew."^[1] Hence, inTalmudic-Midrashic literature, wisegentiles are commonly calledhakhmei ummot ha-'olam ("wise men of the nations of the world").InSephardic usage,hakham is a synonym for "rabbi".

Hakham as an official title is found as early as the firstSanhedrin, after the reconstruction of that body, when the Hadrianic religious persecutions had ceased. In addition to thenasiSimeon ben Gamliel, two other scholars stood at the head of the Sanhedrin, namelyNathan the Babylonian asAv Beit Din andRabbi Meir ashakham.^[2] Another hakham mentioned by name was Simon, the son ofJudah ha-Nasi, who after the death of his father officiated ashakham, with his elder brother thenasi.^[3]The exact functions of thehakham are not clear. Rapoport's suggestion that he was the arbiter in matters of ritual prohibition and permission is highly improbable.Zecharias Frankel looks upon thehakham as a presiding officer whose duty it was to examine a case in question from all points of view, and, having summed up the results, to present the matter for discussion. It is more probable, however, that the office ofhakham was created in order to secure a majority in cases of difference of opinion between thenasi and theAv Beit Din in the affairs of the Sanhedrin; one of the most eminent scholars was always chosen for the post. Abaraita inMoed Kattan 22b leads to the inference that the hakham was always the director of a school (bet midrash), for in addition to theGreat Sanhedrin, which later came to take the place of an academy, there were also private academies under the direction of eminent scholars. The origin of the office ofhakham is as doubtful as its duration.

In theHebrew Bible, the "wise man" was mostly depicted as a practical figure in varied contexts. In Isaiah 40:20 a "wise craftsman" (haras hakam) builds an idol. Similarly, theleb-hakam or "skilled craftsmen" of Exodus 35 make theTabernacle, it's lamps and oil, theanointing oil, the altar of burnt offering and its bronze gate, its utensils (all of them), and the woven vestments of Aaron and his sons.^[4]Frankel thinks thatJoshua ben Hananiah (early 2nd century) was the first hakham. He does not sufficiently support this assertion.^{[citation needed]} The office seems to have existed in Palestine as long as the academy of thenasi. Anamora of the fourth century recounts the following rule ofetiquette, still observed in his time: "When thehakham appears in the academy everyone present must rise as soon as he comes within four ells of him, and must remain standing until he has gone four ells beyond". It is hardly possible that the office ofhakham existed inTalmudic academies in Babylonia (Lower Mesopotamia). where the relation of theexilarch to the heads of the academy was entirely different from that existing inTalmudic academies in Syria Palaestina between the latter and thenasi. Here,hakham was merely the term for a Jewish scholar who studied chiefly oral traditions. The termssofer "scribe" andqārāʾ "reciter, reader" were applied to Bible scholars.^[5] In theSeder Olam Zutta,^[6] every exilarch is accompanied by ahakham, who probably had charge of the religious affairs of the exilarchate; but as this work originated in Palestine, the author probably applied Palestinian conditions to Babylon. The SyrianAphrahat, who had met only Babylonian Jews, mentions a man "who is called the 'hakkima' of the Jews",^[7] but this too may mean "the wise man" of the Jews.The plural,hakhamim, is generally used in the Talmud, and also by theTannaim, to designate the majority of scholars as against a single authority. The Aramean equivalent is "rabbanan."

AmongSephardic Jews, particularlySpanish and Portuguese Jews,hakham is the official title of the local rabbi, but it is not known how old the title is.Shlomo ibn Aderet addresses some of his responsa to people withlehakham Rabbi...,^[8] others again with "larab Rabbi...",^[9] but it is possible thatlehakham simply means "to the wise."

The surnameHacham is found among both Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews, including variations such asHach,Hachami,Hachamovich,Hachamson.

In theMuslim world, arabbi was often called aḥākhām becauseal-Rab is one of thenames of God in Islam and may have caused offense due to misunderstanding. Thus theChief Rabbi of theOttoman Empire was called theHakham Bashi (Hahambaşıحاخامباشی).Although the wordḥākhām is derived from the commonSemitic rootḤ-K-M, the second consonant is generally spelled with aḫāʾ ⟨خ⟩ in Arabic and in languages that useArabic alphabet to reflect the Hebrew pronunciation:حاخام. The term iscognate to the Arabic wordsحاكمḥākim (ruler/lord) andحكيمḥakīm (wise man).

InKaraite Judaism, spiritual leaders are calledhakham to distinguish them from theirRabbinic (i.e. non-Karaite) counterparts.^{[citation needed]} Since Karaite theology is based on the use of reason by individuals to determine the applications of theHebrew Bible's laws for themselves, the role of ahakham is more "advisory" than that of a rabbi in mainstreamRabbinic Judaism.

  This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Solomon Schechter andLouis Ginzberg (1901–1906)."Ḥakam". InSinger, Isidore; et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

• Zechariah Frankel, in Monatsschrift, i. 345-349
• idem,Darkhe ha-Mishnah, p. 154, and Supplement, pp. 7, 8
• Halévy,Dorot ha-Rishonim, ii. 20 (to the passages cited by Halévy add Yer. Mak. ii. 31d)
• Rapoport, 'Erekh Millin, p. 2.