Figure 1: Three Hares

The Three Hares is an enigmatic and ancient symbol, which according to leading expert Dr Tom Greeves 'in so many places was given overtly special status or sacred status, as the centrepiece of Buddhist caves in Dunhuang, or on an Islamic coin, or cast into one of the finest bells in Christian Europe, … [and] almost certainly used on different levels and meanings… Today we are free to interpret [its meaning]'. The symbol [figure 1] features three hares running or crouching in a Strange Loop, with the ears of each hare shared by another. According to Three Hares expert Michel Terrier, 81.3% of Hares in England are turning counter clockwise [while] 80% of Chinese hares turn clockwise. While some believe the rabbits symbolize eternity… [or] fertility, others consider them a representation of the connection between the heavens and the earth. For William Wotton and Browne Willis in 1716, the meaning of the three hares by then was lost.

A Noahite interpretation (2022) of the symbol

Figure 2: Auxerre Manuscript

Inspired by a Judaic outer message presented by פטר חמור and subsequent framework identifications, on 18 April 2022 WikiNoah contributor המשיח הוא יהדות presented a Noahite interpretation of the Three Hares symbol on the Red Judaism (now Bei Abidan) YouTube channel, alongside פטר חמור and Eric the Great. The interpretation is labelled such given it works from a Judaic reference point and extrapolates relevant meaning via a combination of consistent markers and theological (self-)references into academic scholarship. In addition, symbological references related to the Auxerre Manuscript [figure 2]; first published in the 13th Century and brought to public attention by Michel Terrier, are highlighted green. Using this interpretation, a higher-level correspondence is identified, lending credence to Wotton and Willis’ claim of a potential root meaning.

Judaism

• Related instances of the three hares are found in Ukraine and particularly Podolia, which acted as a cultural bridgehead via which the Messianic tension of the Sephardic Jews in the Ottoman Empire was transferred to Eastern Europe.

• According to Dr Boris Khaimovich, who is described as one of the most important and insightful researchers into Jewish gravestone epitaphs and iconography, on some monuments the motif of the “three hares” paradoxically replaces the “three overlapping fish”. Such a representation would seem to be possible only if they are identical semantically and contextually. The image of “three fish” on an eagle’s breast… can be interpreted as a metaphor for Shekhinah which rests on righteous men.

• Dr Khaimovich references Jewish art historian Rahel Wischnitzer in stating ‘Apparently, these or similar texts once gave [her] reason to believe that the three fish pictured on a platter for Purim, from Bamberg, symbolise the two Messiahs and the prophet Elijah.’

• According to Wischnitzer herself, they refer more specifically to ‘Elijah - the proclamatory of the Messiah, the Messiah ben Yosef - also proclamatory of the Messiah, and the Messiah ben David’.

• A similar allegorical meaning can be drawn from Likutei Moharan 16:1, which describes a fish encountered by Rav Yochanan as having 'naFiTZ (spouted out) water from his two nostrils — This alludes to the two Messiahs' (credit to פטר חמור).

• Dr Khaimovich’s interpretation of the image of the three hares on gravestones is that they are associated with ‘the names of the righteous (the forefathers and foremothers) and the name Moshe.’

• A connection to Dr Khaimovich’s interpretation can be identified in the Zohar, an esoteric book within the folds of Judaism, which describes the account of Abraham’s visitation by lower elements of G-d’s divinity in Genesis 18:2 – ‘ "And the Shechinah rested upon [Abraham] in full perfection, as should properly be… he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him..." (Gen. 18: 2) Who are these three men? They are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob [the forefathers] (i.e., Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferet of Zeir Anpin).’

• The explanation of the above passage is that Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferet are nothing other than various phases and levels of G‑d's revealing Himself to man; they are Sefirot, as the introduction to the Zohar states, "You are He who brings forth ten…sefirot." In addition to [their] separate and unique identities, they also interact in configurations depicted in Kabbalistic texts; one of which is the partzuf of Zeir Anpin, comprising Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzah, Hod and Yesod. Figure 3 depicts all ten sefirot arranged in vertical arrays along three parallel axes,... referred to in kabbalistic literature as a sulam ("ladder") or an eitz ("tree"). The soul can only perceive and ascend [the ladder/ tree] to the higher sefirot through the portal of Malchut, the lowest of the ten sefirot, directly beneath Yesod. This is the gate to G‑d, the righteous shall enter through it" (Psalms 118:20). When this is not done, the result is galut haShechinah — the exile of the Divine Presence.

• The relationship of Zeir Anpin to Shechinah (associated with Malchut) is likened to that of the Sun and the Moon; ‘Rabbi Yitzchak [disagreed and] said: supernal light [Zeir Anpin, the Giving force of tiferet] and lower light [malchut, the lowest of the ten sefirot included together are called "V'ata" [the vav represents tiferet and "ata" – you, represents the Shechinah], as it says: "and You give life to them all" (Nehemiah 9:6) and therefore it doesn't say: "and bring near to yourself Aaron your brother " [without the explicit "you" – Ed.], "And command the children of Israel", "And speak to all that are wise hearted", because at that time [of erecting the Tabernacle], the sun [tiferet] rested with the moon [malchut] and all [sefirot] participated together to rest on their workmanship [of the Mishkan] that they had made.’

Noahite sub-movements within Judaism

Figure 3: Tree of Life

• According to the website 13 Petals, which exists ‘primarily to help non-Jews get closer to G- d,… [the] name “Yeshua Sar haPanim” is in the portion [of some Orthodox prayer books] that deal with the order of Shofar blasts, together with Eliyahu the prophet and MemTet Sar haPanim (Prince [Mattat]), which gives us the acronym of Moshe. These three names come as a triad, after the mention of the angel Tartiel… Interesting consideration is that the names share the gematria of 52, which is the gematria of “Messiah” [Mashiakh] in ordinal numbers’… [for Rabbi Nathan Shapira] the role of these three is to testify about the deeds of the souls who ascend to Gan Eden.’

• In the Vilna Gaon’s school of thought it is explained that MemTet is the angel that represents Messiah ben Yosef: “The Messiah ben Yosef from above is MemTet Sar haPanim, as it is known that Yosef is [a spark incarnation of] MemTet [cf. Shaar haGilgulim 31:7b]. Both of them are from the light of above and from the Sefirot of Yesod, being active in the war against [the spiritual force in charge of destroying the people of G-d, called] Armilus”… Eliyahu the prophet in the same manner is supposed to come back before Messiah ben David, to “prepare the way”.

• 13 Petals concludes ‘It is important to notice that in the Hasidei Ashkenaz Judaism, G-d is incorporeal, invisible, and beyond eternity. All that exists and all that we know has been emanated from Him’.

• WikiNoah contributor פטר חמור has also stated that according to his understanding of oral tradition, the heavenly sparks of Messiah ben Yosef, Eliyahu and Messiah ben David are united in the Sefirot of Yesod. When conceptualised individually, the Messiah ben Yosef can represent the Begotten Name or the Tree of Life, Eliyahu corresponds to Yesod or the appearance of אֵל רֳאִי, and the Messiah ben David corresponds to Adam Kadmon / רוח אלהים (Spirit of G-d).

• The Zohar (parashat Vayetzei) says that the ladder is [MemTet] (The singular Angel of HaShem), who also is the “House of God”; as it’s written: “My Name is within him” (Ex 23:21), and through him all the angels, prayers and blessing ascend and descend, he is called the Gate through which one passes to come within. “Every petition sent to the King, must be through MemTet. Every message and petition from here below, must first go to MemTet, and from thence to the King. MemTet is the Mediator of all that comes from heaven down to the earth, or from the earth up to heaven”. (Zohar Shemot II:51). This MemTet is not a created being, but an emanation that gets filtered within creation.

• In the ["the Vision of the Merkabah" (Ẓefiyat ha-Merkabah)], [MemTet is the] the central figure and chief actor. Those under this strange hallucination, who imagine themselves entering the Heavenly Chariot and floating through the air, are called "Yorede Merkabah". In this chariot they are supposed to ascend to the heavens, where in the dazzling light surrounding them they behold the innermost secrets of all persons and things, otherwise impenetrable and invisible. Besides the descriptions of the seven heavens with their hosts of angels, and the various storehouses of the world, and of the divine throne above the highest heaven, the most remarkable feature is that the mysteries rest on the belief in the reality of the things seen in an ecstatic state brought about by ablutions, fasts, fervent invocations, incantations, and by other means.

Buddhism

Figure 4: Avalokiteshvara and the Sefirot

• Maitreya, in Buddhist tradition, the future Buddha, [who will] preach anew the dharma (“law”) when the teachings of Gautama Buddha have completely decayed, was 'one which evolved from one of the sun gods Mithra’ according to historian Rui Chuanming. Similar connections are identified by Wiesner and Kohler between the characters of MemTet and Mithra, the Merkabah and chariot of Mithra being one.

• Between India and China there exist ancient places of worship in which the symbol of three (or four) hares is designated or possibly linked to Maitreya. These are the Mogao Caves, in Dunhuang; Basgo Monastery, in Ladakh; and the Three-Storeyed Temple or Sumtsek in Alchi, Ladakh.

• Within the Mogao Caves, several depictions of the three hares within lotus buds are found; Cave 139 hosts the Boddhisatva Avalokiteśvara above its entrance with an eight-petal lotus containing three hares, and Cave 205 depicts three hares in what is presumed to be a lotus together with wall paintings of the paradise of Maitreya. In Buddhist theology, the newly dead enter into lotus buds, which unfold when the occupants have become entirely purified and have attained enlightenment. Depictions of the three hares surrounded by blossoming lotuses bright and luminious as moonlight (Cave 407), or Avalokiteśvara together with the sun and the moon (Cave 99) also imply connections with these astral bodies; especially the moon, according to The Three Hares: A Curiosity Worth Regarding.

• Turning to Sumtsek one finds three deers, three bulls, three rabbits and three hares on the dhoti of Maitreya, in red circular medallions on blue ground. The Temple is dedicated to Maitreya as one of three bodhisattvas who defer enlightenment to help others; including Avalokiteśvara who is understood to represent Compassion and the Word, and Mañjuśrī who is understood to represent Wisdom.

• Avalokiteśvara, also known as Jūichimen Kannon ("Eleven-headed Kannon"), has Eleven Heads atop its own head as its name implies, ten of [which] take the form of bodhisattvas and represent the ten stages toward enlightenment. Remarkably, Figure 4 demonstrates how the location of each head corresponds directly to a sefirot in the Tree of Life, with the bottom and most prominent three-faced head or trifron forming a unity in the Sefirot of Yesod. In identifying the isomorphism between the ten stages [of enlightenment] and ten sefirot, the lotus leaf finds its natural counterpart in the Merkabah of MemTet; the vehicle in which the soul ascends through the portal of Malchut ('the moon') into Zeir Anpin ('the sun'). The visual emphasis placed on the trifron (Yesod) may signify the location and role of Avalokitshevara in its closeness to the newly dead (credit: המשיח הוא יהדות).

• The symbol of the trifron also appears in the Auxerre Manuscript alongside (from right to left); three hares, four hares and three fish - all but one are found in the Mogao Caves alongside icons of Maitreya and Avalokiteśvara, providing a further self-referential twist. המשיח הוא יהדות concludes that a higher-level correspondence between the symbols in the Auxerre Manuscript can be identified once a Judaic standpoint is taken with regards to occurrences of the three hares in Buddhist iconography. Furthermore it is likely the manuscript author understood these to be cognate symbols; though on which level and from which standpoint is unclear. As Michel Terrier states, "Few texts usually accompany the three hares, it is important now to translate the texts in red that surround these patterns".

Manichaean Gnosticism

• Between Manichaeism, Judaism and Buddhism the figure of Maitreya-MemTet is a consistent marker, though use of the Three Hares or related symbols has not been identified. The founder of Manichaeism, Mani, lived in the 3rd century and in texts concerning his travels to India (240-242 CE), Mani is described as a Buddha (Maitreya). A short Bema hymn of Manichaeism written in both Middle Persian and Parthian further reveals a close [perceived] relationship to Maitreya, labelling him Master Maitreya, Maitragar Maitr Čaitr, Lord Maitreya, Buddha Maitreya and Maitreya.

Islam

Christianity

Mithraism

Paganism

Hinduism

Ancient Egyptian Pantheon

Evidence summary

With the obvious difficulties of establishing conscious translation of meaning amongst occurrences of the Three Hares and related symbols, it is rather curious to note that the relative success of a Noahite interpretation can otherwise be attributed to a Strange Loop unconscious translation, mirroring the symbolic depiction.

Potential further connections

Yoruba Pantheon

Potential theological interpretations

Micah 4:5 וְיָֽשְׁב֗וּ אִ֣ישׁ תַּ֧חַת גַּפְנ֛וֹ וְתַ֥חַת תְּאֵֽנָת֖וֹ וְאֵ֣ין מַֽחֲרִ֑יד כִּי־פִ֛י יְהֹוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת דִּבֵּֽר:

Credit

Original research and article by WikiNoah contributor המשיח הוא יהדות, key contributions from WikiNoah contributor פטר חמור, contributions from Eric the Great, and special thanks to the author/s of The Three Hares: A Curiosity Worth Regarding notwithstanding.

References

Footnotes