- published: 03 Oct 2011
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The four species (Hebrew: ארבעת המינים arba'at ha-minim, also called arba minim) are four plants mentioned in the Torah (Leviticus 23:40) as being relevant to Sukkot.Karaite Jews build their Sukkot out of branches from the four specified plants (see Other interpretations), while Talmudic Jews take three types of branches and one type of fruit which are held together and waved in a special ceremony during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The waving of the four plants is a mitzvah prescribed by the Torah, and contains symbolic allusions to a Jew's service of God.
The mitzvah of waving the Four Species derives from the Torah. In Leviticus, it states:
Leviticus 23:40 And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. English Standard Version
In Leviticus 23:40 the Hebrew terms for the four plants are:
In Talmudic tradition, the four plants are identified as: