{{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 in Jerusalem]] A '''''parochet''''' ({{langx|he|פרוכת|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 (''Aron Kodesh'') containing the Torah scrolls in a 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, 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 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 with a white one.
The term ''parochet'' is used in the Hebrew Bible to describe the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the main hall ({{langx|he|היכל|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. Its use in synagogues is a reference to the centrality of the Temple to Jewish worship.
The Umberto Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art in 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 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 </gallery>
==See also== *Holy of Holies, inner sanctuary of the Temple in Jerusalem, separated from the Holy by a curtain (''parochet'') **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