Lulav And Etrog Sets

The Four Species (Hebrew: ארבעת המינים‎) are 3 kinds of branches and one sort of fruit which are kept jointly and motioned in a unique ritual through the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The gesturing of the Four Species is a mitzvah ordered by the Torah, and includes metaphorical intimations to a Jew's service of God.

The mitzvah of gesturing the Four Species originates from the Torah. In Leviticus, its written: “And you shall take for yourselves on the first day [of Sukkot], the fruit of the beautiful [citron] tree, tightly bound branches of date palms, the branch of the braided [myrtle] tree, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.”[1] During the time of the Temple in Jerusalem, the waving service was carried out in the Holy Temple on all 7 days of Sukkot, and at a different place only on the initial day. After the ruin of the Temple, Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai commanded that the Four Species be waved everywhere on every day of Sukkot, with the except of the Shabbat, as a remembrance for the Temple.

To ready the species for the mitzvah, the lulav is first tied along with the hadass and arava, in the following manner: a single lulav is placed in the center, two aravah branches are tied to the left, and three hadass boughs are tied to the right. The package may be tied with strips from another palm frond, or be put in a special keeper which is also interlaced from palm fronds.