The "Monditional" Parochet

The Congregation Ohr HaTorah is an Orthodox shul built on Limud HaTorah, Tefilah, and Chessed located in the heart of Bergenfield, NJ. They were starting to build their dream shul, and they were soon in need of a beautiful parochet to finish this beautiful project.

That’s when Dr. R. approached me regarding a new parochet for his shul, it was then, that I knew I was in for a fascinating challenge.

"The community's taste is more modern, while the Rabbi's taste is much more traditional."

That one sentence led to a 5-month journey of discovery, drilling to the core of the shul's essence.

The design had to portray a classic Jewish theme:
Esh Sh'chora Al Gabei Esh Levana.
The fire of Torah bursting forth from the Torah itself.
Hashem giving Torah to the Jews, and the Jews giving back their learning, tefilla, mitzvos.
Reciprocity of Hashem and the Jewish nation, giving and taking.

Very deep.

But how to convey this idea in a... um... "moditional" way?

Here's how.

Thinking About the Design:

Here are a few of our original design attempts.

To redefine the design, you need to think outside the box and come up with fresh and innovative ideas to transform the layout. This can involve reimagining the placement of elements and experimenting with different color schemes, or different shapes. By that, you can create a visually stunning and highly functional layout that captures the attention of your audience and leaves a lasting impression.

So, here is the new and final design!!

Choosing the Fabrics:

Curating the fabrics and threads to be used for this magnificently meaningful parochet. Note the shul's carpet, wood, and upholstery samples among my fabric suggestions. That's the way to do it when everything has to be perfect. :)

Adding the Swarovski Crystals:

These are the instructions on how to add the Swarovski Crystals to the fabric.
It's a big job and my talented seamstress is whom to thank for it. You can see how hard they’re working on it!

The Grande Finale!

Receiving this thank you letter from the shul:

"INSANE, how beautiful this is !!!!  I am writing this before shabbos, before the entire shul fills up  but i wanted to take a minute and thank you for such an amazing job !!! The  paroches lights up the entire room . Such a focal point without being over the top . It adds such a pop of color to the room. The crystals aren’t too much to be gaudy , the contrast of the wood / gray/ brown as echoed through the shul  is spot on. Everything is the right size, width and length . The message of the torah and aish is clear. Such an appreciation of the balance of content and space  and the richness of the fabric . I can go on and on, it came out so nice. You and your team should be so proud of yourselves.  I hope you can appreciate that over 500  people will be inspired  by this beautiful paroches throughout the year. Thank you !

Would have been  even more perfect  if this was not this week but in two weeks as this would have been the parsha  but  apropos  none the less!!

וְכָל־אִשָּׁ֥ה חַכְמַת־לֵ֖ב בְּיָדֶ֣יהָ טָו֑וּ וַיָּבִ֣יאוּ מַטְוֶ֗ה אֶֽת־הַתְּכֵ֙לֶת֙ וְאֶת־הָֽאַרְגָּמָ֔ן אֶת־תֹּולַ֥עַת הַשָּׁנִ֖י וְאֶת־הַשֵּֽׁשׁ׃וְכָל־הַ֨נָּשִׁ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר נָשָׂ֥א לִבָּ֛ן אֹתָ֖נָה בְּחָכְמָ֑ה טָו֖וּ אֶת־הָעִזִּֽים

Thank you"