A parokhet is an elaborately embroidered curtain that covers the doors of the Aron Kodesh, a special ritual arc in the synagogue. It contains the Torah scroll. Parokhets were made of velvet, silk, sateen and lace. There were two types of parokhet: those that were made from a single piece of fabric, and the others that were made from different in texture and color materials.

One part of a multipiece parokhet is a kapporet, a strip of fabric that serves as an upper curtain, a lambrequin. This part of the curtain appeared two centuries later than the parokhet itself. In the Bible, the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, portable repository of God’s commandments, is also called a “kapporet”. There is a clear parallel between the Tabernacle and the parokhet of the synagogue; they serve to protect the scriptures. This similarity is emphasized in quotations from biblical texts from the period when the Tabernacle was built.

And also:

At the turn of the 20th century, the national artistic traditions in the works of Jewish religious art gradually waned. In synagogue textiles, previously unique narrative compositions are clichéd; the craftsmanship and distinctiveness of the style faded.

The collection of the Russian Museum of Ethnography contains parokhets and kapporets of the late 18th — early 19th centuries of Eastern European origin, particularly from Poland and Galicia. This kapporet was brought from the expedition to Volhynia and Podolia in 1912–1914. Its central part is made of velvet, and its sides and festoons — of silk. Animal symbols of Judaism are used in the ornamentation: the lion and the two-headed eagle.

The eagle symbolizes God’s care for the Jewish people, as evidenced by the quote from Deuteronomy:

In the Torah, the eagle is a symbol of lightness, fulfillment of the commandments, and protection. The Almighty carried the oppressed people of Israel out of Egypt “on the eagle’s wings”. The lion is the ancient symbol of one of the 12 tribes of Israel, the tribe of Judah. At the same time, the lion represents morning prayer, strength, and victory.