Meet Samuel Fiorentino, a museum educator from The Jewish Museum of Rome, who narrates a fascinating story about one of the oldest treasures in the Five Scole, the Parochet Zaddik.

The Scola was the primary structure of this community, the central nucleus around which the Jews gathered. It was simultaneously a place of prayer and study, a meetinghouse, a religious and cultural nexus, and an administrative center, able to meet every need of the community, explains Samuel.

Why was the Scola important?

Roman Jews managed to adapt to the papal provision contained in the proclamation "Cum nimis absurdum" by having five different synagogues, or Scole, all placed in a single building, connected to one another by stairs and corridors. In each Scola, it was possible to follow a different minhag (liturgy), the names of which indicated the geographical origin of the Jews who frequented it. These were: Tempio (for the Jews of Rome), Nova (for those coming from the Papal State), Catalana (for Jews from Catalonia), Castigliana (for Jews from Castile), and Siciliana (for those who had been expelled from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies).

What is a parochet, and what is its use? When does this word appear, and above all, where does it appear?

The term Parochet derives from the Aramaic “parokta” which means tent, or protection. The first time the Parochet is mentioned in the Torah is in the second book, Shemot (Exodus), where the Parochet is spoken of as a "veil," whose function was to hide the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies, during the 40 years in the desert, was the containment where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, inside which the Tablets of the Law were transported.

During the period of the Kingdom of Israel, the Ark was kept in the Temple of Solomon (the first Temple of Jerusalem, destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonians 586 BCE), and inside, together with the 10 Commandments, there were also the Staff of Aaron and a container with Manna.

The great Rashi ( Shlomo Yitzchaki in Hebrew:Solomon ben Isaac de Troyes; c. 1040 a 13 July 1105 ( to Ex. 26:31) explains that parochet refers to a “curtain” that separates between a king and his people. In the context of the Tabernacle the parochet is used to separate between the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies (see Ex. 26:31-33).

What is so special about the Parochet Zaddik in Room Four, in the Jewish Museum of Rome, a venue you share with visitors on your tours?

First of all, the Parochet Zaddik is very important, as it is one of the oldest, most precious, and best-preserved objects we have in our museum. Talking about its perfect conditions, it is particularly engaging and unique because this piece was made at the beginning of the ghetto period (established in 1555), at the end of the sixteenth century , and has been restored by the Zaddik family ( who lived in the still existing ghetto) in the first half of the nineteenth century. Their generous restoration retained the central part of the original Parochet.

In the nineteenth century , this family provided for the reutilization of all the important decorations, including the columns and the Tablets of the Laws, thus making it the only object exhibited with these amazing feature.

A curiosity about the Parochet Zaddik drawing is this: it seems to represent the Temple of Solomon, with its two twisted columns. These copper or bronze pillars had names: the one on the left was called Boaz (meaning "in him strength"), and the one on the right was called Yachin (translated as "he will establish").

Last, but perhaps most curious, the embroidery decorating the Parochet Zaddik, with a type of canopy supported by twisted columns, seems to recall Gian Lorenzo Bernini's (7th December 1598–28th November 1680) famous bronze Baldachin in St. Peter's Basilica. This fact has created a famous urban legend, according to which Bernini saw the Parochet Zaddik and took it as inspiration to create his Baldachin. Actually, according to the descriptions, the entrance to the Beit Hamikdash, the sanctuary in Jerusalem destroyed in 70 CE by Titus Flavius, seems to have had this appearance. It seems most likely that this representation may have been the inspiration for both designs; that of Bernini’s bronze Baldachin and the embroiderers of the Parochet Zaddik.

And, as we have just said, the decorations with the canopy and the columns were fashioned in the Nineteenth Century, so many years later than Bernini’s Baldachino, suggesting that it would have been ‘impossible’ for Bernini to borrow the Parochet Zaddik as an inspiration for his masterpiece. Nevertheless, this legend about our Parochet Zaddik persists, highlighting the significance of this piece we have in our museum today.

image host Museum educator Samuel Fiorentino in front of the Parochet Zaddik in room 4 in the Jewish Museum of Rome, Italy.