“FRUITS WHICH THE MOON BRINGS TO MATURITY”: GOURDS IN JEWISH CULTURE, FOLKLORE, AND SYMBOLISM

Gourds have played a role in Jewish texts from biblical to modern times. This article explores Jewish folkloric beliefs surrounding gourds, focusing on their rapid growth, association with the moon, and links to sorcery and prosperity. Deuteronomy 33:14 describes crops influenced by the sun and moon. Rashi (11^th century) interprets this as a reference to gourds and cucumbers ripening under the moon's influence, a view likely drawn from Sifrei Devarim (3^rd century CE). Other scholars, such as the Vilna Gaon, extended this idea to all crops. Gourds also appear in Jewish magical traditions. The Talmud mentions sages using incantations to grow and gather cucumbers instantly. Their rapid growth made them a symbol of prosperity, reflected in Rosh ha-Shanah (the Jewish New Year) customs. The Kikayon plant in the Book of Jonah, which provided shade before withering, is identified in the Quran and by some Jewish scholars as a calabash, emphasizing its fast growth in the story. In European folklore, the story of Cinderella includes a pumpkin transforming into a coach, possibly influenced by ancient beliefs linking gourds to the moon. While modern science disproves lunar effects on plant growth, gourds remain symbols of rapid transformation, abundance and mystical beliefs in religious and literary traditions.