Chayyim
Encyclopedia
Chayyim also transcribed as Haim, Hayim, Haymi, Chaim is a name of Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

 origin; It comes from a word meaning "life". Its first usage can be traced to Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

. It is a popular name amongst Jewish people. The feminine form for this name is Chaya.

"Chai" is the Hebrew word for "life
Life
Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...

". According to Kaballah, the name Hayim helps the person to remain healthy, people were known to add Hayim as their second name to improve their health. (Among Serbians, the name "Vuk
Vuk (name)
Vuk is a South Slavic male given name, meaning "wolf". In earlier times it was given to weak and ill neonates so it would protect them from illness and witchcraft .- Notable people :*Vuk Orle , Serbian military commander...

", meaning "Wolf", as well as Idir
Idir
Hamid Cheriet better known by his stage name Idir is an Algerian musician of Berber origin.- Biography :...

 ("he will live") among Kabyles
Kabyle people
The Kabyle people are the largest homogeneous Algerian ethno-cultural and linguistical community and the largest nation in North Africa to be considered exclusively Berber. Their traditional homeland is Kabylie in the north of Algeria, one hundred miles east of Algiers...

, was for similar reasons given to weak and ill neonates.)

In the United States, Chaim is a common spelling; however, since it is not phonetic, Hayim is often used as an alternative spelling. The "ch" spelling comes from Yiddish as in Chanukah, Channa, etc., which can also be spelled as Hanukah and Hannah. It is cognate
Cognate
In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...

 to the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 word حياة (ḥayāt), with the same meaning, deriving from the same Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic language
Proto-Semitic is the hypothetical proto-language ancestral to historical Semitic languages of the Middle East. Locations which have been proposed for its origination include northern Mesopotamia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Levant with a 2009 study proposing that it may have originated around...

 root.

L'Chaim in Hebrew is a toast
Toast (honor)
A toast is a ritual in which a drink is taken as an expression of honor or goodwill. The term may be applied to the person or thing so honored, the drink taken, or the verbal expression accompanying the drink. Thus, a person could be "the toast of the evening," for whom someone "proposes a toast"...

 meaning "to life". When a couple becomes engaged, they get together with friends and family to celebrate. Since they drink l'chaim ("to life"), the celebration is also called a l'chaim.

Hebrew letters are also used as numerals, and the Hebrew letters that spell "chai" also stand for the number 18. Thus, 18 is considered a lucky number
Numerology
Numerology is any study of the purported mystical relationship between a count or measurement and life. It has many systems and traditions and beliefs...

 in Jewish culture. It is common to give gifts and contributions to charity in multiples of $18.

The given name may refer to:
  • Chaim Ben Pesach, aka Victor Vancier
    Victor Vancier
    Victor Vancier , commonly referred to by his Hebrew name, Chaim Ben Pesach is an American political activist and the founder and director of the United States-based Kahanist organization, Jewish Task Force and the former National Chairman of the Jewish Defense League in the UnitedStates...

  • Chaim Berlin
    Chaim Berlin
    Chaim Berlin was an Orthodox rabbi and chief rabbi of Moscow from 1865 to 1889. He was the son of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin....

  • Chaim Brisker
  • Chaim Chefer (born 1925), Israeli lyricist
  • Chajim Fürst
    Chajim Fürst
    Chajim Fürst, aka Heinrich Chajim Fürst was a merchant and court agent as well as an elder of the Jewish community of Hamburg. According to contemporary sources, Heinrich Chajim Fürst was also the richest Jew in Hamburg at the time....

  • Chaim Grade
    Chaim Grade
    Chaim Grade was one of the leading Yiddish writers of the twentieth century....

  • Hayim Greenberg
    Hayim Greenberg
    Hayim Greenberg was a US Judaism thinker and Labor Zionist thinker. He was the head of poalei Zion and he was the editor along with Marie Syrkin of the important American Zionist Journal "Jewish Frontiers." Its writers included David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Shertok, Sholom Asch and Maurice Samuel.He...

  • Hayyim Habshush
    Hayyim Habshush
    Rabbi Hayyim Habshush was a coppersmith by trade, and a noted nineteenth century historiographer of Yemenite Jewry...

  • Chaim Herzog
    Chaim Herzog
    Chaim Herzog served as the sixth President of Israel , following a distinguished career in both the British Army and the Israel Defense Forces .-Early life:...

     (1918–97), Israeli politician and President of Israel
  • Chaim Kanievsky
    Chaim Kanievsky
    Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky, , is an Israeli rabbi and posek. Kanievsky is considered a leading authority in Haredi Jewish society.-Biography:...

  • Chaim Kreiswirth
    Chaim Kreiswirth
    Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth was an Orthodox rabbi who served as the longtime Chief Rabbi of Congregation Machzikei Hadass Antwerp, Belgium...

  • Chaim Levine, aka Chuck Lorre
  • Haim Moshe
    Haim Moshe
    Haim Moshe born 1956)is an Israeli singer whose musical style has crossed over from Yemenite and Mediterranean "ethnic" music to include mainstream Israeli and western pop elements. He has helped Mizrahi music achieve wide popularityboth in Israel...

     (born 1956), Israeli musician
  • Chaim Potok
    Chaim Potok
    Chaim Potok was an American Jewish author and rabbi. Potok is most famous for his first book The Chosen, a 1967 novel which was listed on The New York Times’ best seller list for 39 weeks and sold more than 3,400,000 copies.-Biography :Herman Harold Potok was born in The Bronx, New York City, to...

     (1929–2002), American author and rabbi
  • Haim Revivo
    Haim Revivo
    Haim Michael Revivo is a retired Israeli football player, and a businessman. He was especially famous for his free-kick goals and his entertaining celebrations after these goals.- From Ashdod to Tel Aviv :...

     (born 1972), Israeli
    Israel
    The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

     footballer
  • Haim Saban
    Haim Saban
    Haim Saban is an Egyptian born Israeli-American television and media proprietor. With an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 104th richest person in America.-Biography:...

  • Hayyim Selig Slonimski
    Hayyim Selig Slonimski
    Hayyim Selig Slonimski was a Hebrew publisher, astronomer, inventor, and science author.-Biography:Hayyim Selig Slonimski was born in Byelostok, Russian Empire March 31, 1810....

  • Joseph Haïm Sitruk, chief rabbi of France (grand rabbin de France) from 1987 till 2008
  • Chaim Soutine
    Chaim Soutine
    Chaïm Soutine was a Jewish painter from Belarus. Soutine made a major contribution to the expressionist movement while living in Paris....

  • Chaim Topol
    Chaim Topol
    Chaim Topol , often billed simply as Topol, is an Israeli theatrical and film performer, actor, writer and producer. He has been nominated for an Oscar and Tony Award, and has won two Golden Globes.-Early life:...

     (born 1935), Israeli theatrical and film performer
  • Chaim Weizmann
    Chaim Weizmann
    Chaim Azriel Weizmann, , was a Zionist leader, President of the Zionist Organization, and the first President of the State of Israel. He was elected on 1 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952....

    (1874–1952), chemist, Zionist leader, President of the World Zionist Organization, and first President of the State of Israel
  • Chaim Weitz, aka Gene Simmons
    Gene Simmons
    Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...

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