chachamim

Chachamim is a Hebrew term (חכמים) meaning "wise men" or "sages." In Jewish tradition, it designates learned Torah scholars who study, interpret, and apply the laws of the Torah and the rabbinic literature. In Rabbinic literature, the Chachamim were the core authorities responsible for Halakhah (legal rulings) and Aggadah (narrative and ethical teachings). They sustained communal leadership, served as judges and teachers, and produced legal decisions, rulings, and commentaries that shaped Jewish practice.

The designation encompasses several historical groups, including the Tannaim—the teachers of the Mishnah—and the Amoraim, who discussed and elaborated on the Mishnah in the Gemara. The term appears throughout the Mishnah and Talmud as a collective label for those sages or as a title applied to individual rabbinic figures.

In modern usage, chacham is a general honorific for a learned person in Hebrew, and chachamim can refer to contemporary or historical scholars collectively. In Sephardic and Mizrahi communities, the title Chacham is still used for senior rabbis, sometimes formalized as a council of sages. The term thus spans historical periods and reflects the central role of rabbinic scholarship in interpreting Jewish law and tradition.