A ''parochet'' (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: פרוכת;

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

pronunciation: ''paroches'') meaning "curtain" or "screen",Sonne Isaiah (1962) 'Synagogue' in The Interpreter's dictionary of the Bible vol 4, New York: Abingdon Press pp 476-491 is the curtain that covers the

Torah ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' or ''aron ha- ...

(''Aron Kodesh'') containing the

Torah scrolls A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tor ...

(''Sifrei Torah'') in a

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

. The ''parochet'' symbolizes the curtain that covered the

Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant,; Ge'ez: also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is an alleged artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an e ...

, based on : :"He brought the ark into the Tabernacle and placed the screening dividing curtain so that it formed a protective covering before the Ark...". In most synagogues, the ''parochet'' which is used all year round is replaced during the

High Holy Days The High Holidays also known as the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim ( he, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm''; "Days of Awe") #strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jew ...

with a white one. The term ''parochet'' is used in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

to describe the curtain that separated the

Holy of Holies The Holy of Holies (Hebrew: ''Qōḏeš haqQŏḏāšīm'' or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also הַדְּבִיר ''haDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where God's prese ...

(''Kodesh Hakodashim'') from the main hall (''hekhal'' in Hebrew)Stinespring W. F. (1962) 'Temple, Jerusalem' in 'The interpreters Dictionary of the Bible' vol 4 p 536 of the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...

. Its use in synagogues is a reference to the centrality of the Temple to Jewish worship. The U. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

houses the oldest surviving ''parochet'', dating to 1572.Jewish Italian Heritage Lives On in Jerusalem
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Gallery

File:Mühlhausen Thüringen Synagoge 90194.JPG, ''Parochet'' of the Synagoge in Mühlhausen File:Parochet Bielsko - pochodzacy z synagogi Maharszala.jpg, Original ''parochet'' from Great

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

Maharshal's synagogue from 1926, today in Bielsko-Biała synagogue, Poland File:Parochet (torah curtain) with Hebrew inscription from Psalms CXVIII-20, Egypt, Cairo, Ottoman Empire, early 1600s, wool - Textile Museum, George Washington University - DSC09735.JPG, Early-17th-century ''parochet'' from Cairo, Egypt File:Leah Ottolenghi - Torah Ark Curtain - Google Art Project.jpg, 1698 linen and silk ''parochet'' from Venice, Italy File:Hurva Synagogue P1140558.JPG, ''Parochet'' in the

Hurva Synagogue The Hurva Synagogue ( he, בית הכנסת החורבה, translit: ''Beit ha-Knesset ha-Hurva'', lit. "The Ruin Synagogue"), also known as Hurvat Rabbi Yehudah he-Hasid ( he, חורבת רבי יהודה החסיד, "Ruin of Rabbi Judah the Piou ...

in Jerusalem File:Parochet from 1797.jpg, ''Parochet'' from 1797,

Jewish Museum of Switzerland The Jewish Museum of Switzerland in Basel provides an overview of the religious and everyday history of the Jews in Basel and Switzerland using objects of ritual, art and everyday culture from Middle Ages, the Middle Ages to the present. Histo ...

. File:Synagogue curtain.jpg, ''Parochet'' in the Synagogue at

770 Eastern Parkway 770 Eastern Parkway ( yi, 770 איסטערן פארקוויי), also known as "770", is the street address of the World Headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, located on Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, ...

References

{{reflist Synagogue architecture Jewish ritual objects