רבי חלבו

Rabbi Chelbo (also spelled Chalavo) was an amora whose teachings are preserved chiefly in aggadic literature. He appears frequently in the Midrashim — notably in Esther Rabbah, Eikhah (Lamentations) Rabbah, and the Tanchuma-type expositions on the weekly portions (Vayetzei, Vaera, Terumah, Toldot, and others) — where he is recorded interpreting scriptural narratives and verses.

In the cited passages his statements are transmitted both directly and through his student Berechiah, who repeatedly relays teachings “in the name of Rabbi Chelbo” (often citing further authorities such as Rabbi Abba and Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman). Rabbi Chelbo is also shown addressing Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman, whom he questions as a master of aggadah. His recorded teachings range over themes of divine providence, the merit of the patriarchs, the redemption from Egypt, and the events of the Book of Esther.

He is cited as well in halachic and devotional contexts — for example, the well-known teaching (transmitted in his name by Rav Huna) urging care in the afternoon Minchah prayer, learned from Elijah, which is quoted in later codes such as the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch.