The Zikis

From the Sources

אמר רב חנא בר ביזנא אמר ליה אליעזר לשם רבא כתיב למשפחותיהם יצאו מן התיבה אתון היכן הויתון א”ל צער גדול היה לנו בתיבה בריה שדרכה להאכילה ביום האכלנוה ביום שדרכה להאכילה בלילה האכלנוה בלילה האי זקיתא לא הוה ידע אבא מה אכלה יומא חד הוה יתיב וקא פאלי רמונא נפל תולעתא מינה אכלה מיכן ואילך הוה גביל לה חיזרא כי מתלע אכלה

Rav Ḥana bar Bizna says: Eliezer, servant of Abraham, said to Shem the Great, son of Noah: It is written: “After their kinds, they emerged from the ark,” indicating that the different types of animals were not intermingled while in the ark. Where were you and what did you do to care for them while they were in the ark? Shem said to him: We experienced great suffering in the ark caring for the animals. Where there was a creature that one typically feeds during the day, we fed it during the day, and where there was a creature that one typically feeds at night, we fed it at night. With regard to that Zikis, my father did not know what it eats. One day, my father was sitting and peeling a pomegranate. A worm fell from it and the Zikis ate it. From that point forward my father would knead bran with water, and when it became overrun with worms, the Zikis would eat it. (Gemara Sanhedrin 108B)

The Gemara in Sanhedrin 108B explains that it was Noach’s job whilst on the Ark to feed all of the animals. Some needed food in the day, and some at night. The whole year that Noach was in the Ark, he did not get one night where he could have a full sleep.

There was an animal called the Zikis and Noach did not know what to feed it. Then one day he cut open a pomegranate and a worm crawled out. The Zikis ate the worm. From then on, Noach was able to feed it worms.

How to eat it

Cut a pomegranate in half and serve with gummy worms. Remember the whole point is just to use the
food to get people to talk about the Parsha. It is a good opportunity to talk about the need to check fruits and vegetables for worms as we are not allowed to eat these creatures.Wormy Pomegranate

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *