Four

Arba means four, and this number is woven deeply into Jewish ritual and symbolism. The Passover Seder features four cups of wine, four questions, and four sons. The Four Species (arba minim) are waved on Sukkot. Four matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah) complement the three patriarchs. The Hebrew name of the four-lettered divine name (YHVH) is called the Tetragrammaton. The four questions of the Passover Seder — 'Mah Nishtanah?' — are traditionally recited by the youngest child and serve as the catalyst for the entire evening's storytelling. The four sons (wise, wicked, simple, and the one who does not know how to ask) represent four approaches to tradition, each requiring a different educational response. These fours create a framework for intergenerational dialogue about freedom and identity. The ancient city of Kiryat Arba (City of Four), adjacent to Hebron, is named for the four legendary couples buried in the Cave of Machpelah: Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah. This connection between the number four and the foundational families of Jewish tradition emphasizes four as a number of completeness and rootedness. In Jewish mysticism, four represents the physical world: four directions (north, south, east, west), four elements (fire, water, air, earth), and four levels of biblical interpretation (peshat, remez, derash, sod — together forming the acronym PaRDeS, meaning 'orchard'). The number four grounds spiritual concepts in tangible, navigable reality.