Four species
The four species (Hebrew: ארבעת המינים arba'at ha-minim, also called arba'a 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 Rabbinic 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.
List of the four plants
The mitzvah of waving the Four Species derives from the Torah. In Leviticus, it states:
In Leviticus 23:40 the Hebrew terms for the four plants are:
‘êṣ hāḏār (עֵץ הָדָר), magnificent/beautiful trees
təmārîm (תְּמָרִים), palm trees
‘êṣ ‘āḇōṯ (עֵץ־עָבֹת), thick/leafy trees
‘arḇê-nāḥal (עַרְבֵי נַחַל), willows of the brook/valley
In Talmudic tradition, the four plants are identified as:
etrog (אתרוג) – the fruit of a citron tree