- Rabbi Helbo
Rabbi Helbo was an amora who flourished about the end of the 3rd century, and who is frequently mentioned in both
Talmuds . It seems that Ḥelbo was at first inBabylon , where he studied underRav Huna , the head of the Academy ofSura , and that, like the other Babylonian amoraim, he was called "Rab" (Ned. 40a). Later he settled inPalestine , where he was ordained rabbi.He is mentioned as having spoken in the names of
Abdima of Ḥaifa (Yer. Ber. iv. 4) and ofḤama b. 'Uḳba (Yer.Meg. ii. 3). In Palestine he consulted onhalakic matters R.Isaac Nappaḥa (Giṭ. 60a) and R.Samuel b. Naḥmani (B. B. 123a).His Aggadah
Ḥelbo handed down a large number of
haggadic sayings ofSamuel b. Naḥmani . He is mentioned in the Talmud as a teacher of ethics, his sayings being delivered in the name ofRav Huna . Among them may be quoted: "He who goes out of the synagogue must not take long steps "; "One should pay great attention to the Minḥah prayer"; "He who enjoys the banquet of a bridegroom without gladdening the latter commits a five-fold sin" (Ber. 6b); "He who sees a torn scroll of the Pentateuch must rend his garment in two places" (M. Ḳ. 26a). Ḥelbo also said, in the name ofUla , that he who sees the ruined cities ofJudah must reciteIsaiah lxiv. 9-10. InGen. R. xliii., in the name ofR. Eleazar , Ḥelbo is mentioned as a traditionist withR. Berechiah andR. Ammi . A Ḥelbo b. Ḥilfa b. Samḳaï is also mentioned (Gen. R. li.), who may be identical with the subject of this topic. Yer. Ber. vii. 1 contains a reference to a R. Ḥelbo b. Ḥanan.Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
*
Abraham Zacuto , Yuhasin, ed. Filipowski;
*Jehiel Heilprin , Seder ha-Dorot, ii.;
*W. Bacher , Ag. Pal. Amor. iii. 54-63.External links
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=554&letter=H Jewish Encyclopedia article for Helbo] , by
M. Seligsohn et al.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
