Obj. ID: 39389
Sacred and Ritual Objects  Torah ark curtain, Demmelsdorf, 1761

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

The parochet (Hebrew: פרוכת) is the curtain that covers the Aron Kodesh (Torah Ark) containing the Torah scrolls in a synagogue. The parochet symbolizes the curtain that covered the Ark of the Covenant, based on Exodus 40:21. "He brought the ark into the Tabernacle and placed the screening dividing curtain so that it formed a protective covering before the Ark..."

In front of the ark of the Torah hangs the ark curtain, or "Parochet" in Hebrew. In Ashkenazi synagogues these hung outside the ark doors and in Sephardic tradition the curtain was inside the ark doors. In Bavaria some of the most beautiful embroidered Torah curtains were fashioned, often by Jewish male embroiderers. This central panel of the Parochet, with the dedicatory inscription, was probably sewn onto a larger piece of precious woven brocade material that would cover the ark front. The rampant lions with double tails were a typical design of this area and represent the cherubim who guarded the ark of the law in the temple, represented here by the crown. It was most likely dedicated by the couple named in the inscription to the synagogue in the town of Demmelsdorf in Bavaria. This town is in the area of the city of Bamberg in upper Franconia. The synagogue in which this curtain was likely used was built in 1748. By the early 19th century the population of this small town was something over 200 people, of which more than 60% were Jews.

Inscription: Keter Torah. Shayach leha-Aluf........... This belongs to the esteemed honorable teacher rabbi Ya’akov the son of the honorable teacher rabbi Avraham from Demmelsdorf with his wife, the modest and important Mrs. Fromet, the daughter of the honorable teacher Rabbi Mordechai, may his light shine, from Somerhausen in the year (5)521 [=1760/61] according to the minor reckoning.