Four species

Four species
	The four species of Ashkenazi tradition. From left: aravah, lulav, hadass, etrog
Halakhic texts relating to this article
Torah:	Leviticus 23:40
Babylonian Talmud:	Sukkah Chapter 3
Mishneh Torah:	Laws of Shofar, Sukkah, and Lulav 7:1–8:11
Shulchan Aruch:	Orach Chaim 645–658

The four species (Hebrew: ארבעת המינים‎ arba'at ha-minim, also called arba'a minim) are four plants—the etrog, lulav, hadass, and aravah—mentioned in the Torah (Leviticus 23:40) as being relevant to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.^[1] Observant Jews tie together three types of branches and one type of fruit and wave them in a special ceremony each day of the Sukkot holiday, excluding Shabbat. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the waving of the four plants is a mitzvah prescribed by the Torah, and it contains symbolic allusions to a Jew's service of God.

^ Arye Forta Judaism - Page 55 - 1995 "The four species are all plants that need an abundance of water, and at the end of Sukkot, prayers for rain will be said."

[1] Arye Forta Judaism - Page 55 - 1995 "The four species are all plants that need an abundance of water, and at the end of Sukkot, prayers for rain will be said."

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