# Parochet

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{{Short description|Curtain that covers the Torah Ark in a synagogue}}
{{For|the original ''parochet'' in the Tabernacle|Holy of Holies#Tabernacle}}
{{Italics title}}
[[File:Western_Wall_1841_(499751900).jpg|thumb|''Parochet'' on a mobile ark at the [Western Wall](/source/Western_Wall) in Jerusalem]]
A '''''parochet''''' ({{langx|he|[פרוכת](/source/%3Awikt%3A%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9B%D7%AA)|translit=parôkheth}}; {{langx|yi|פרוכת|translit=paroykhes}}), meaning "curtain" or "screen",<ref name=Sonne>Sonne Isaiah (1962) 'Synagogue' in The Interpreter's dictionary of the Bible vol 4, New York: Abingdon Press pp 476-491</ref> is the curtain that covers the [Torah ark](/source/Torah_ark) (''Aron Kodesh'') containing the [Torah scrolls](/source/sefer_Torah) in a [synagogue](/source/synagogue).
File:Dutch-Portuguese Sephardic Torah Ark Curtain (Parochet), c. 1760–1770 – Silk velvet and metallic embroidery – Beatriz de Luna Art Collection.jpg|Dutch-Portuguese Sephardic parochet (Torah Ark Curtain), silk velvet and metallic embroidery, c. 1760–1770.
The ''parochet'' symbolizes the curtain that covered the [Ark of the Covenant](/source/Ark_of_the_Covenant), based on {{bibleverse|Exodus|40:21}}: "Then he put up the curtain for screening, and screened off the Ark of the Pact—just as [יהוה](/source/tetragrammaton) had commanded Moses."<ref>{{cite web |title=Exodus 40:21 |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Exodus.40.21?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en |website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref>

In most synagogues, the parochet which is used all year round is replaced during the [High Holy Days](/source/High_Holy_Days) with a white one.

The term ''parochet'' is used in the [Hebrew Bible](/source/Hebrew_Bible) to describe the curtain that separated the [Holy of Holies](/source/Holy_of_Holies)  from the main hall ({{langx|he|[היכל](/source/%3Awikt%3A%D7%94%D7%99%D7%9B%D7%9C)|translit=hekhal}})<ref name=Stinespring>Stinespring W. F. (1962) 'Temple, Jerusalem' in 'The interpreters Dictionary of the Bible' vol 4 p 536</ref> of the [Temple in Jerusalem](/source/Temple_in_Jerusalem). Its use in synagogues is a reference to the centrality of the Temple to Jewish worship.

The [Umberto Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art](/source/Umberto_Nahon_Museum_of_Italian_Jewish_Art) in [Jerusalem](/source/Jerusalem) houses the oldest surviving ''parochet'', dating to 1572.<ref>[https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/1,7340,L-3158382,00.html Jewish Italian Heritage Lives On in Jerusalem]</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Mühlhausen Thüringen Synagoge 90194.JPG|''Parochet'' of the [Synagoge in Mühlhausen](/source/Synagoge_in_M%C3%BChlhausen)
File:Parochet Bielsko - pochodzacy z synagogi Maharszala.jpg|Original ''parochet'' from Great [Lublin](/source/Lublin) [Maharshal's Synagogue](/source/Maharshal's_Synagogue) from 1926, today in [Bielsko-Biała synagogue](/source/Jews_in_Bielsko-Bia%C5%82a), 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](/source/Hurva_Synagogue) in Jerusalem
File:Parochet from 1797.jpg|''Parochet'' from 1797, [Jewish Museum of Switzerland](/source/Jewish_Museum_of_Switzerland).
File:Synagogue curtain.jpg|''Parochet'' in the Synagogue at [770 Eastern Parkway](/source/770_Eastern_Parkway)
</gallery>

==See also==
*[Holy of Holies](/source/Holy_of_Holies), inner sanctuary of the Temple in Jerusalem, separated from the Holy by a curtain (''parochet'')
**[Crucifixion of Jesus](/source/Crucifixion_of_Jesus) - at the death of Jesus the curtain of the Temple (Gr.  ''katapetasma''; the  ''parochet'') is torn in two

==References==
{{reflist}}

Category:Synagogue architecture
Category:Jewish ritual objects

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Parochet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parochet) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parochet?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.