Hadass

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Hadass (Hebrew: הדס, pl. hadassim - הדסים) is a bough of the myrtle tree. It is one of the Four Species (arba'ah minim–ארבעת המינים) used in a special waving ceremony during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The other species are the lulav (palm frond), aravah (willow), and etrog (citron). The leaves of the hadass grow in tiers of three leaves each. According to the Halakha, the most perfect hadass is one whose leaves grow evenly in each set of three. Each leaf is about the size of a thumbnail.

Three hadassim are incorporated into the Four Species and are bound together with the lulav and aravah (this bundle is also referred to as "the lulav"). Together with the etrog, the Species are waved in all four directions, plus up and down, to attest to God's mastery over all of creation, and to symbolically voice a prayer for adequate rainfall over all the earth's vegetation in the coming year. (See Four Species for the complete description and symbolism of the waving ceremony.)

The Four Species

Lulav

(palm frond)

Etrog

(citron)

Hadass

(myrtle branch)

Aravah

(willow branch)