A parochet (Hebrew: פרוכת, romanized: parôkheth; Yiddish: פרוכת, romanized: paroykhes), meaning "curtain" or "screen", is the curtain that covers the Torah ark (Aron Kodesh) containing the Torah scrolls in a synagogue.
The parochet symbolizes the curtain that covered the Ark of the Covenant, based on 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."
An oriental rug is a heavy, and craftly skilled textile that was orginally produced in certain regions of Asia called the "Orient". These oriental rugs were the first example of rugs until they grew more advanced. They have been around for a millennia close to East and Central Asia.
Oriental carpets can be pile woven or flat woven without pile, using various materials such as silk, wool, cotton, jute and animal hair. Examples range in size from pillows to large, room-sized carpets, and include carrier bags, floor coverings, decorations for animals, Islamic prayer rugs ('Jai'namaz'), Jewish Torah ark covers (parochet), and Christian altar covers. Since the High Middle Ages, oriental rugs have been an integral part of their cultures of origin, as well as of the European and, later on, the North American culture.
In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis (Greek: εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church. The iconostasis evolved from the Byzantine templon, a process complete by the 15th century.
A direct comparison for the function of the main iconostasis can be made to the layout of the great Temple in Jerusalem. That Temple was designed with three parts. The holiest and inner-most portion was that where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. This portion, the Holy of Holies, was separated from the second larger part of the building's interior by a curtain, the "veil of the temple". Only the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. The third part was the entrance court.