''Pe'ot'', anglicized as payot ( he, פֵּאוֹת, pēʾōt, "corners") or payes (), is the Hebrew term for sidelocks or sideburns. 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 or

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

, Yemenite, and Chardal 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 Torah ...

, 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 s ...

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 cente ...

–

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 adminis ...

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 Torah ...

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

kabbalistic Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

teachings spread into Slavonic 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 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"). Many

and Teimani Jews let their sidelocks grow particularly long. Some Haredi 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 who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. Between June 1949 and September 1950, the ...

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 dynast ...

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 administ ...

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.(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 Gerer Hasidim raise their sidelocks from the temples and tuck them under their yarmulke. Others, especially in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, let them hang down. * The

Skver Skver (also Skvir, Skvere, or Skwere; yi, סקווירא) is the name of a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Yitzchok Twersky in the city of Skver (as known in Yiddish; or Skvyra, in present-day Ukraine) during the mid-19th century. Followers o ...

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 Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent areas ...

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 A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

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

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 peyot File:Young hasid.jpg, Young

man with peyot File:Kotel payot1.jpg, A religious Jew with peyots,

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, 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