Parokhet (Torah Ark Curtain) [Moravia]: Embroidered by Edel, Widow of Abraham Ber, 1789

(67 3/4 x 39 1/2 in.; 172 x 100 cm). Gold silk brocade, upper panel appliqued with crimson and gold velvet, crimson panel with raised work (Torah Crown flanked by rampant lions and lettering) chiefly with gold purl wire, lower panel appliqued with blue silk satin, a floral pattern worked in metallic and colored silk threads, the two panels edged with metallic gold braiding, sleeve sewn along top to insert a rod, later beige cotton lining; faint, minor staining along bottom, two small tears on left side, one small hole and a few threads frayed in upper right corner.

An important adornment to the interior of any synagogue is the curtain hung in front of the Torah Ark, called a parokhet, from the biblical term used to describe the curtain which separated the “holy" from the "most holy” in the Tabernacle (Exodus 26:33). Archaeological evidence from ancient synagogues, as well as subsequent corroborative artistic representations confirm that the parokhet has been a fixture in Jewish houses of worship since late antiquity. Like other ceremonial objects created for synagogue use, a parokhet was frequently donated by members of the congregation in memory of deceased relatives, whose names were customarily embroidered either directly on the curtain or onto an attached piece of cloth, along with the donor’s name and the date of donation. This curtain, decorated with a traditional motif of the Crown of Torah flanked by rampant lions, incorporates an elaborately stitched central panel whose embroidered Hebrew inscription identifies the donors as Edel, the widow of Abraham Ber, her son Lazer and his wife Beila (daughter of Rabbi Zanvil from Pressburg). Edel is also identified as the maker of the parokhet.