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 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 (''Aron Kodesh'') containing the Torah scrolls (''Sifrei Torah'') in a synagogue. The ''parochet'' symbolizes the curtain that covered the Ark of the Covenant, 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 ("Jewi ...

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

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Holy of Holies (''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 Jeru ...

. 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
/ref>

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 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 in Jerusalem File:Parochet from 1797.jpg, ''Parochet'' from 1797, Jewish Museum of Switzerland. 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 Brookly ...

References

{{reflist Synagogue architecture Jewish ritual objects