Glossary

The entries selection comes from the book “Dictionary of Judaica” (2005), which was written by a group of authors led by Eva Kosáková . Entries were further processed by Jaroslav Kuntoš, Dana Veselská, Olga Sixtová, Michaela Scheibová and Lenka Uličná. The book can be purchased at our e-shop.

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Valance (Heb. kapporet)

An oblong textile with an odd number of scallops on its bottom edge, a raised centre and an intricately embroidered iconographic decoration which, from the end of the 17th century at the latest, has been used as the cover of the Holy Ark above the synagogue curtain. The word kapporet also refers to the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. The form of the symbols employed is also based on the biblical description of this lid (Ex 25:17–22) and of the interior furnishings of the Tent of Meeting and the Temple of Jerusalem. The depiction of the Ark with the tablets of the Ten Commandments is usually placed in the middle of the valance; above are the large outstretched wings of biblical cherubim (these may be fashioned separately and attached to the sides of the textile). The individual scallops usually contain embroidered motifs of the menorah, the shewbread table, the altar with flames, the copper laver and the breastplate and diadem of the high priest. The iconographic decoration is supplemented by three crowns: the crown of Torah, crown of the priesthood and crown of the kingship (Pirkei Avot 4:17). These symbolically and artistically intricate objects were simplified in the course of the 19th century. Valances often became part of the synagogue curtain or were developed into a form of separate, simple rectangles, decorated with one or two general symbols of Judaism. At the same time, in some synagogues delicate textiles were replaced by wooden valances.

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