Hebrew: קִישּׁוּא, kishu
Family: Gourds (Cucurbitaceae Juss)
Scientific name: Cucurbita pepo var. cylindrical
The zucchini is a plant from the gourd family. This family includes two main types of growth: spreading growth (one variety, bottle gourd, can spread out twenty meters!) and shrub-like growth; the zucchini grows in the latter manner.
Zucchinis are harvested while unripe, just a short while after flowering. At this time the flesh of the vegetable is still soft and tasty. When mature, the vegetable becomes sinewy and not tasty.
Kishu is mentioned once in the Torah in the context of the Israelites’ complains about the manna, reminiscing about the foods they ate in Egypt. In rabbinic literature, the kishu or kishut is mentioned often and in different contexts: the laws of kilayim, the obligation of the various parts of the plant in terumot and ma’aserot and in the laws of ritual purity, among many others.
There is much confusion among the scholars and commentators regarding the identity of the kishu mentioned in the scriptures and by the Sages, since the plant known today as kishu, zucchini, was not grown in our region in bliblical times or during the Mishnaic period, rather it was imported from the Americas.
There are two main possibilities for identifying the kishu of the Sages: 1. Armenian cucumber (Cucumis melo var. flexuosus), a melon cultivar belonging to the gourd family. In contrast to most known melon cultivars, it is not sweet. Sub-cultivars come in various shapes, the most common has a long fruit reaching up to 80 cm, eaten cooked or raw.
2. Cultivated cucumber (garden zucchini, cucumber), a climbing plant from the gourd family.
Note that the source of the expression מיקשה, miksheh, is קישוא. A fifth-generation Tanna, disciple of Rabbi Meir, was known as Efraim Miksha’ah אפרים מקשאה; one understanding of this moniker was that he either guarded or sold kishu’im.
Kilei zera’im & kilei hakerem (interplanting: annuals & grapevines): While most gourds require extra distancing, as they spread out and are considered invasive vegetables, the zucchini plant is not invasive and grows in a bush-like fashion. For this reason, despite the zucchini being from the gourd family, only the regular distance of 1.5 tefachim is necessary from other edible anuals and grapevines.
Kedushat shevi’it (Sabbatical-year sanctity): It is permissible to eat food with kedushat shevi’it only in the regular manner. Since zucchini is only generally eaten cooked or baked, it should not be eaten raw.
Agricultural activities during shemitah: Zucchinis have separate male and female flowers on the same plant. At times, manual pollination is required to produce a commercial yield. The posekim discuss under which circumstances it is permitted to do so under the framework of otzar beit din.
