Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur (also called the High Holidays), and for many piyyutim (poems, songs, etc.) recited during High Holy Day services. Many who partake in these customs consider it respectful to stand as long as the ark is open and the Torah is being moved to the reading table (or podium). However, there is no actual obligation (law) to remain standing when the ark is open, but it is a universally accepted custom. In addition to this custom is the custom to never turn ones back towards the ark even when leaving the sanctuary. Instead one must back out until they have left the vicinity of the ark, and only then can they turn their back (by the Kotel which is considered as a synagogue itself, this custom also exists). Evolution Originally, the scrolls were placed in moveable containers that were risen up. The more permanent placement of the ark was designed as the tribes settled and built temples. As early as 245 C.E. in the synagogue of Dura-Europos a slit within the holy wall (or wall facing Jerusalem) was created for the ark. In ancient times, the cloth wrapped scrolls are believed to have been placed flat within a low wooden box. Historical records or discoveries point to a variety of exterior designs becoming popular within the Jewish culture of the time. Archeologists found early Torah arks within the Jewish catacombs in Rome decorated with Pompeian frescoes, paintings, and graffiti. Throughout Europe, in the Middle Ages, designs favored taller arks. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Spanish and German Jewish Hebrew texts depict a new design. These texts placed the scrolls inside the ark standing upright, decorated, and wrapped with the appropriate cloth and covers. A Sephardic synagogue based in Amsterdam (c.1675) contains a baroque style ark, which takes up the entire width of the central hub of the building. The Sephardic synagogue based as far north as London (c. 1701) adopted the design as mainstream. In this period, most synagogues in Europe were designed with the reading table (or podium) in the center of the building. The ark was placed on the Eastern wall, so the congregation would be facing Jerusalem when praying. During the 18th century, German synagogues incorporated a baroque style design. Decorative features such as pilasters, columns, and vases became a standard practice. Wood and stone carvers in Eastern