''Pe'ot'',

anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...

as payot ( he, פֵּאוֹת, pēʾōt, "corners") or payes (), is the Hebrew term for sidelocks or

sideburns Sideburns, sideboards, or side whiskers are facial hair grown on the sides of the face, extending from the hairline to run parallel to or beyond the ears. The term ''sideburns'' is a 19th-century corruption of the original ''burnsides'', named ...

. Payot are worn by some men and boys in the

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

community based on an interpretation of the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

or Hasidic, Yemenite, and

Chardal Hardal (also spelled Chardal; he, חרד״ל, acronym for , , plural ) usually refers to the portion of the Religious Zionist Jewish community in Israel which inclines significantly toward Haredi ideology (whether in terms of outlook on the s ...

Jews. Yemenite Jews call their sidelocks ''simanim'' (), literally, "signs", because their long-curled sidelocks served as a distinguishing feature in the Yemenite society (differentiating them from their non-Jewish neighbors).

Rabbinic interpretation

Reason

According to

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Tora ...

, shaving the sidelocks was a heathen practice.

Specifics

The

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

says, "you shall not round off the ''pe'a'' of your head ()". The word ''pe'a'' was taken to mean the hair in front of the ears extending to beneath the cheekbone, on a level with the nose (

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

–

Makkot Makot (in Hebrew: מכות) (in English: "Lashes") is a tractate of the Mishnah and Talmud. It is the fifth volume of the order of Nezikin. Makkot deals primarily with laws of the Jewish courts ( beis din) and the punishments which they may admini ...

20a). The

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

interpreted the regulation as applying only to men. Thus it became the custom in certain circles to allow the hair over the ears to grow, and hang down in curls or ringlets.''Jewish Encyclopedia'' There is considerable discussion in the halachic literature as to the precise location of the payot and of the ways in which their removal is prohibited. Jewish haircut

Specifics by communities

As kabbalistic teachings spread into

Slav Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

onic lands, the custom of ''pe'ot'' became accepted there. In 1845, the practice was banned in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

Crimean Karaites The Crimean Karaites or Krymkaraylar (Crimean Karaim: Кърымкъарайлар, ''Qrımqaraylar'', singular къарай, ''qaray''; Trakai dialect: ''karajlar'', singular ''karaj''; he, קראי מזרח אירופה; crh, Qaraylar; ), a ...

did not wear ''payot'', and the

Crimean Tatars , flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg , flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars , image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg , caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace ...

consequently referred to them as ''zulufsız çufutlar'' ("Jews without payot"), to distinguish them from the

Krymchaks The Krymchaks ( Krymchak: , , , ) are Jewish ethno-religious communities of Crimea derived from Turkic-speaking adherents of Rabbinic Judaism.Hasidic and Teimani Jews let their sidelocks grow particularly long. Some

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

men grow sidelocks, but trim them or tuck them behind the ears. Even in some communities where ''peot'' are not customary among the men, young boys may grow them until the age of bar mitzvah.

Styles

The lengths and maintenance of the ''pe'ot'' vary noticeably among Jewish groups.

Yemenite Jews

* Some traditional

Yemenite Jews Yemenite Jews or Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ''Yehudei Teman''; ar, اليهود اليمنيون) are those Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Is ...

still wear distinctive long and thin twisted locks, often reaching to the upper arm. The actual area where the hair grows and where the ringlet begins is neat and tidy.

Hasidic groups

Satmar Satmar (Yiddish: סאַטמאַר, Hebrew: סאטמר) is a Hasidic group founded in 1905 by Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum, in the city of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary (now Satu Mare in Romania). The group is an offshoot of the Sighet Hasidic dynasty ...

Jews have notably thicker sidelocks. They also tend to tuck their sidelocks behind their ears. *

Belz Belz ( uk, Белз; pl, Bełz; yi, בעלז ') is a small city in Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, located between the Solokiya river (a tributary of the Bug River) and the Richytsia stream. Belz hosts the adminis ...

Hasidim wrap their sidelocks around their ears as many times as necessary without trimming. * Many Breslov Hasidim wear long twisted locks as did their Rabbi,

Nachman of Breslov Nachman of Breslov ( he, רַבִּי נַחְמָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב ''Rabbī'' ''Naḥmān mīBreslev''), also known as Reb Nachman of Bratslav, Reb Nachman Breslover ( yi, רבי נחמן ברעסלאווער ''Rebe Nakhmen Breslover'' ...

. However, others wear different styles in line with the teaching of Rabbi Nachman that his followers do not have to have a uniform garb.(Sichot Haran?); The Master of Prayer (from Tales of Rabbi Nachman), where the Master is "not particular about garb at all; se

for a video showing a variety of styles among Breslevers. * The Chabad, Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidim's ''payot'' are not evident, but they exist. So long as there is hair around the ear and behind it that can be plucked out, that is considered ''payot''. * Some Ger (Hasidic dynasty), Gerer Hasidim raise their sidelocks from the temples and tuck them under their yarmulke. Others, especially in Israel, let them hang down. * The Skver Hasidim twist their sidelocks into a tight coil, and leave them protruding in front of the ear. Most other Hasidic groups wear their payot down and curled.

Lithuanian groups

The Lithuanian Jews are less influenced by Kabbalistic practises, but still retain sidelocks to a degree, in a small number of variant styles: * Lithuanian Jews often cut their sidelocks, but leave a bunch of strands uncut, and place them behind the ear; this style is most commonly found among yeshiva students, who sometimes remove the uncut strands when they have grown sideburns. * The Brisk yeshivas and methods, Brisk movement's members brush their hair straight down, usually so that it reaches to the ear lobe; sometimes, some of the sidelock is not cut, and is curled back behind the ear.

Gallery

File:Boy wearing kippah.jpg, Pre-bar mitzvah age boy with payot File:Rabbi with beard and payot.jpg, Religious Jew with beard and payot tucked behind ear File:Yemen1.jpg, A Yemenite Jews, Teimani (Yemenite) Jew with peyot File:Young hasid.jpg, Young Hasidic man with peyot File:Kotel payot1.jpg, A religious Jew with peyots, Jerusalem, Israel File:Orthodox Man with Beard by David Shankbone.jpg, An Orthodox man with peyot

References and notes

;Notes ;References

External links

* * {{Italic title Orthodox Judaism Jewish law and rituals Hasidic Judaism Hairstyles Negative Mitzvoth