So imagine you're in school and you have a really smart teacher who knows a lot about everything. They're always reading books and studying new things. This is kind of like a talmid chakham.
A talmid chakham is someone who has studied a lot of Jewish texts and knows a lot about them. They're kind of like a teacher for other people, because they can explain all the complicated things in the texts in a way that's easy to understand.
People really respect talmid chakhamim (that's plural for talmid chakham) because they're very wise and knowledgeable. They teach others so that everyone can learn and become better. It's like having a really smart teacher who helps you learn new things about Judaism.