Are there are quotes about Rabbits in Tanach, Midrash, Gemara etc.. I am looking for somewhere which speaks about them.
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Leviticus 11:5-6?– Double AA ♦Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 13:24
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3@doubleaa aren't those hares and hyraxes?– Joel KCommented Mar 10, 2022 at 13:28
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2@MiZeh rabbits are not indigenous to the Land of Israel, nor to Bavel. What reason is there to expect a reference to them in Tanakh or Hazal?– DeuteronomyCommented Mar 10, 2022 at 14:49
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2@Joel how about Leviticus 25:36-37?– Double AA ♦Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 16:08
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@doubleaa Ha ha– Joel KCommented Mar 10, 2022 at 17:00
2 Answers
If we are allowing the reference of "אַרְנֶבֶת" as per @AvrohomYitzchok's answer then there is also the gemara in Nedarim 65a
וְגַם בַּמֶּלֶךְ נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר מָרָד אֲשֶׁר הִשְׁבִּיעוֹ בֵּאלֹהִים (חַיִּים) מַאי מַרְדּוּתֵיהּ אַשְׁכְּחֵיהּ צִדְקִיָּה לִנְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר דַּהֲוָה קָאָכֵיל אַרְנְבָא חַיָּה אֲמַר לֵיהּ אִישְׁתְּבַע לִי דְּלָא מְגַלֵּית עִילָּוַי וְלָא תִּיפּוֹק מִילְּתָא אִישְׁתְּבַע
The Gemara cites another proof that one may dissolve such a vow or oath only in the presence of the party affect by the vow or oath. It states with regard to King Zedekiah: “And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God” (II Chronicles 36:13). The Gemara asks: What was his rebellion? The Gemara answers: Zedekiah found Nebuchadnezzar eating a live rabbit, and the latter was ashamed to be seen doing this. He said to him: Take an oath to me that you will not reveal my behavior and this matter will not emerge in public. Zedekiah took an oath to him. (Sefaria translation and notation)
I used the word ארנבת for rabbit. It also translates as 'hare'. Wikipedia says 'Hares are classified in the same family as rabbits'.
I used this concordance to search Tanach and found two references: ויקרא
[פרק יא' פסוק ו'] וְאֶת-הָאַרְנֶבֶת כִּי-מַעֲלַת גֵּרָה הִוא וּפַרְסָה לֹא הִפְרִיסָה טְמֵאָה הִוא לָכֶם
דברים
[פרק יד' פסוק ז'] אַךְ אֶת-זֶה לֹא תֹאכְלוּ מִמַּעֲלֵי הַגֵּרָה וּמִמַּפְרִיסֵי הַפַּרְסָה הַשְּׁסוּעָה אֶת-הַגָּמָל וְאֶת-הָאַרְנֶבֶת וְאֶת-הַשָּׁפָן כִּי-מַעֲלֵה גֵרָה הֵמָּה וּפַרְסָה לֹא הִפְרִיסוּ טְמֵאִים הֵם לָכֶם
The Gemoro mentions the rabbit.
Megillah 9a reports
King Ptolemy once gathered 72 Elders. He placed them in 72 chambers, each of them in a separate one, without revealing to them why they were summoned. He entered each one's room and said: "Write for me the Torah of Moshe, your teacher". God put it in the heart of each one to translate identically as all the others did.
The Elders amended the text to prevent problems. One of these was :
And in the list of unclean animals they wrote for him: The short-legged beast [tze’irat haraglayim]. And they did not write for him: “And the hare [arnevet]” (Leviticus 11:6), since the name of Ptolemy’s wife was Arnevet, so that he would not say: The Jews have mocked me and inserted my wife’s name in the Torah. Therefore, they did not refer to the hare by name, but by one of its characteristic features.
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anything positive written about rabbits? such as Perek Shira style (ארנבת does not appear there)– MozCommented Mar 11, 2022 at 10:50
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Nothing positive yet - but I added the mention in the Gemoro. Commented Mar 11, 2022 at 12:17