From en.wikipedia.org:
[Hebrew term for sidelocks or sideburns] [Piyyut] [small=yes] {{Infobox
Halacha | name = [he]<br />[[פֵּאוֹת] ( [he] ) <br /> [סִימָנִים] ( [he] )] |
image = Young hasid.jpg | caption= A young Hasid | verse = [Leviticus] |
talmud = Makkot 20a | rambam = Avodath Kokhavim 12:6 | sa = Yoreh Deah 181 }}
SIDELOCKS in English, or _PE'OT_ in Hebrew, anglicized as PAYOT[Also spelled
_Peot, peyot, peyes, payes, payos, peyos, peyois, payois_ .] ([he], "corners")
or PAYES ([yi]), is the Hebrew term for sidelocks or sideburns. Payot are
worn by some men and boys in the Orthodox Jewish community based on an
interpretation of the Tanakh's injunction against shaving the "sides" of one's
head. Literally, _pe'a_ means "corner, side, edge". There are different
styles of payot among Haredi or Hasidic, Yemenite, and Chardal Jews. Yemenite
Jews call their sidelocks _SIMANIM_ ([סִימָנִים]), literally, "signs", because
their long-curled sidelocks served as a distinguishing feature in Yemenite
society (differentiating them from their Gentile neighbors).
** Rabbinic interpretation
*** Reason
According to Maimonides, shaving the sidelocks was a heathen practice.[1]
*** Specifics
The Torah says, "you shall not round off the _pe'a_ of your head ([פְּאַת
רֹאשְׁכֶם])".[2] 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 –
Makkot 20a).[3] The Mishnah 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.[4] 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.[5]
** Specifics by communities
As kabbalistic teachings spread into Slavonic lands, the custom of _pe'ot_
became accepted there. In 1845, the practice was banned in the Russian
Empire.<ref name="Jewish Encyclopedia" />
Crimean Karaites did not wear _payot_, and the Crimean Tatars consequently
referred to them as _zulufsız çufutlar_ ("Jews without payot"), to distinguish
them from the Krymchaks, referred to as _zuluflı çufutlar_ ("Jews with
payot").<ref name=Chabad>Why do some Chassidic Jews have long sidelocks (see
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2963669/jewish/Why-Do-Some-Chassidic-Jews-Have-Long-Sidelocks-Peyot.htm)
Many Hasidic and Yemenite ("Teimani") Jews let their sidelocks grow
particularly long. Some Haredi men grow sidelocks, but trim them or tuck them
behind the ears.<ref name=Chabad/>
Even in some communities where _peot_ are not customary among the men, young
boys may grow them until the age of bar mitzvah.[reason=B.m., so age 13? And
then what? Or confusion with age 3, see "upsherin", when boys get 1st haircut
and sidelocks are left to grow? ][date=April 2023]
** Styles
[date=October 2023] The lengths and maintenance of the _pe'ot_ vary noticeably
among Jewish groups.
*** Yemenite Jews
- Some traditional Yemenite Jews 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 Jews have notably thicker sidelocks. They also tend to tuck their sidelocks behind their ears.
- Belz 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 . However, others wear different styles in line with the teaching of Rabbi Nachman that his followers do not have to have a uniform garb. [6]
- The 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 er 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 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
<gallery widths="150" heights="150" perrow="5"> 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 Teimani (Yemenite) Jew with payot File:Black jew of cochin
with peyots.jpg|A Jew with payot from Kochi, India, 1900 File:Kotel
payot1.jpg|A religious Jew with payot, Jerusalem, Israel </gallery>
** See also
[Payots]
- 613 mitzvot
- Shaving in Judaism
- Upsherin
- List of hairstyles
** References and notes
Notes
[Notelist]
References
[Reflist]
** External links
- [commons category-inline]
- [Wiktionary-inline]
[Human hair] [Italic title]
Category:Orthodox Judaism Category:Jewish law and rituals Category:Hasidic
Judaism Category:Hairstyles Category:Negative Mitzvoth