Payot
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Within Jewish religious culture, used to refer to the sideburns of a man. Commonly, the term refers to the often extended and curled hair from the sideburns worn by many Hasidic Jews. Peyos are strongly identified with Hasidim.
Origin
An injunction in Leviticus (19:27) commands Jews not to "round the corners of your heads, nor the edges of your beards". This was elaborated later on in the Talmud, which defined the payot as hair from in front of the ears to the level of the nose. This law was interpreted to apply only to males. The reasoning for it may have been maintain distinctiveness within the Jewish community.
Use
The origninal law only requires the payot (sideburns) not to be removed, though they can be cut or trimmed. Similarly, shaving facial hair was also prohibited. Within the Orthodox community, the prohibition (like that of shaving) is viewed with leniency and most Orthodox (and all other) Jews tend not to be very strict in this regard. The Hasidic community, however, regards the prohibition more strictly and traditionally requires the hair to be long enough to be blended back into the root. In addition to following this law, many Hasids also have very long curled payot (locks) in order to emphasize their observance of the prohibition and their identity as Hasidic Jews. Often, having these curled locks is confused as a religious obligation, when instead they are mostly a matter of taste and preference.
