Four species

The mitzvah of waving the four species derives from the Torah. Leviticus 23:40 states:

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

The Hebrew terms in this verse are:

• ‘pri êṣ hāḏār (פְּרִי עֵץ הָדָר‎), fruit of a beautiful tree
• kapot təmārîm (כַּפֹּת תְּמָרִים‎), palm fronds
• 'anaf ‘êṣ ‘āḇōṯ (עֲנַף עֵץ-עָבֹת‎), a bough of 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
• lulav (לולב‎) – a ripe, green, closed frond from a date palm tree
• hadass (הדס‎) – boughs with leaves from the myrtle tree
• aravah (ערבה‎) – branches with leaves from the willow tree

This figure, in a detail of a medieval Hebrew calendar, depicts a Jew carrying the four species

During the time of the Temple in Jerusalem, the species were taken in the Temple on all seven days of Sukkot, and elsewhere only on the first day. This followed the command of Leviticus 23:40, which calls for the species to be "taken" on the first day, followed by seven days of celebration "before God" (at the Temple). Following the destruction of the Temple, Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai ordered that the four species be waved everywhere on every day of Sukkot (except on Shabbat), as a memorial to the Temple.[5]

The practice of waving the four species has been understood in different ways. Apparently, initially the waving was a part of the vigorous dancing (or shaking of musical instruments) which took place as part of the Temple celebrations on Sukkot. After the destruction of the Temple, the waving acquired a symbolic meaning, with six directions of waving symbolizing God's control over every direction of the universe, similar to certain Temple offerings which were also waved in six directions.[6]

In old Jewish Eastern European communities, the Jews lived in cities far from fields, which then required substantial travel in order to purchase the four species. Often whole towns would have had to share them. The etrog especially was rare and thus very expensive. In Northern African communities, in Morocco, Tunis and Tangier, the communities were located closer to fields, but the etrog was still fairly expensive. There, instead of one per city, there was one per family. But in both areas, the community would share their etrogs to some extent.

Today, with improved transportation, farming techniques etc., more people have their own. An etrog can cost anywhere from $3 to $500 depending on its quality.[7]

Customers inspect the four species for sale in Jerusalem, 2014

While all mitzvot should be performed in the best manner possible, hiddur mitzvah (beautifying the mitzvah) especially applies to the four species. The halacha is explicit on what constitutes the "best" in each species.[8] To that end, people will spend large amounts of money to acquire the most perfect etrog, the straightest lulav, and the freshest hadass and aravah. Usually a father will buy several sets of the four species to outfit his sons, as well.

Another custom for hiddur mitzvah, depending on your custom of wrapping lulav and etrog, is to have more than two aravos and three haddasim. Some people have the custom to have as many as 40 extra haddassim and aravos.

Hiddur mitzvah applies to all mitzvot, but its absence does not impede the mitzvah from being performed. For the four species specifically, there is a further "technical" requirement of hadar (beauty), which does impede the mitzvah of the four species from being performed. Despite their similar names and details, these two requirements are distinct from one another.

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Several explanations are offered as to why these particular species were chosen for the mitzvah.

The four species are distinctive that none of them are widespread in the Land of Israel, but rather occur in distinct parts of the land: etrog in the moist coastal plain, lulav near springs in the valleys, hadas in the mountains, and aravah near major wadis and rivers.[9] Thus, in order to perform the commandment, Jews from different parts of the land had to gather together at the Temple to share the species that grew in their locations.

After the exile made such a gathering impossible, the rabbis adapted the idea, teaching that the binding of the four species symbolizes the unification of four categories of Jews in service of God, as follows:[10]

• The lulav has taste but no smell, symbolizing those who study Torah but do not possess good deeds.
• The hadass has a good smell but no taste, symbolizing those who possess good deeds but do not study Torah.
• The aravah has neither taste nor smell, symbolizing those who lack both Torah and good deeds.
• The etrog has both a good taste and a good smell, symbolizing those who have both Torah and good deeds.

A second explanation[11] finds the four species alluding to parts of the human body. Each of the species or its leaves is similar in shape to the following organs:

• Lulav – the spine
• Hadass – the eye
• Aravah – the mouth
• Etrog – the heart

By binding them together for a mitzvah, Jews show their desire to consecrate their entire being to the service of God.

An additional reason for waving the four species in all directions alludes to the fact that all these species require much water to grow. The lulav grows in watered valleys, hadass and aravah grow near water sources, and the etrog requires more water than other fruit trees. By taking these particular species and waving them in all directions, the Jew symbolically voices a prayer for abundant rainfall for all the vegetation of the earth in the coming year.[12]

According to Karaite Judaism, the purpose of the command to collect the four species in Lev. 23:40 is ambiguous, as the text does not explicitly state what to do with them. Karaite Jews believe the intent is not to wave the four species but rather to use them to build the "sukkah" which is described in neighboring verses (23:42-43). This interpretation is based in part on Nehemiah 8:14–18:

And they found written in the Law, how that the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month; and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying: 'Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and branches of wild olive, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.' So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the broad place of the water gate, and in the broad place of the gate of Ephraim. And all the congregation of them that were come back out of the captivity made booths, and dwelt in the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.

The passage states that it is "written in the Law" for people to go to the mountains to get palm branches, olive leaves, pine needles, myrtle leaves, and other forms of vegetation with which to build the sukkot. The only verse in the Torah that mentions some of these species is Lev. 23:40. According to most Karaites, this indicates that Ezra's scribes interpreted that verse as referring to building materials for the sukkah, not waving the four species.[13]

Lawrence Schiffman interprets the passage the same way:

One of the earliest examples of midrashic exegesis was the manner in which Lev. 23:40–42 was interpreted by the book of Ezra. The interpretation proposed here was rejected by Jewish tradition, which saw Lev. 23:40 as referring to the taking of the lulav and etrog, not to the building of the sukkah.[14]

Schiffman believes the passage in Nehemiah is a midrashic interpretation of Lev. 23:40, as do the Karaites. However, his view is that this interpretation was eventually rejected by "Jewish tradition," i.e., majority practice, in favor of the Talmudic interpretation of Lev. 23:40 as referring to waving the four species. In contrast to Schiffman, some commentators argue that the verse in Nehemiah cannot be referring to Lev. 23:40, since the language in Nehemiah has some differences from that verse. The pri eitz hadar (fruit of a beautiful tree) and the willow branches are omitted, and two species of olive branches are added. It remains unclear according to this interpretation where exactly the scribes in Nehemiah's day "found written in the law" that the Sukkah should be taken from the described species, as no such commandment appears in the books of Moses or anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible.

A minority view exists among the Karaites sages which holds that the four species symbolize a wide variety of greeneries and fruits that are meant to be decoratively bundled together, carried around, and eaten throughout this holiday, thus fulfilling the injunction of Lev 23:40 “to rejoice before the Lord”.[15][16][17]

• Five species of grain
• Seven Species

• Kitov, Eliyahu (1978). The Book of Our Heritage. Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers. ISBN 0-87306-152-7.

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