Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.
Leviticus 23:40
Four Species Sukkot Set
Leviticus 23:40
The Four Species, or "arba'a minim" in Hebrew, are four different plants native to Israel. They are used in an obligatory rite which Jews are commanded to perform during the Festival of Tabernacles, or Sukkot. The species are held together and shaken in six different directions, east, south, west, north, upward, and downward, in acknowledgment of the divine's dominion over nature. There are many teachings on what the four species symbolize. One of the most beautiful is the idea that each species stands for one part of the Land of Israel: the lulav represents the lowland; the aravot represents the river; the hadass represent the mountains; and the etrog represents the irrigated areas. When you hold all four in your hands, you hold the essence of the Land.