Payot

Payots, often anglicized as () or (), are sidelocks or sideburns. Pe'ot are worn by some male adherents of Orthodox Judaism based on an interpretation of the Tanakhic injunction—in Leviticus 19:27—against shaving the "sides" of one's head. The singular form of the Hebrew pe'ot, pe'a (), means 'corner', 'side', or 'edge'. There are different styles of pe'ot among adherents of Haredi Judaism and Hasidic Judaism, as well as among Yemenite Jews, and Chardal Jews. Yemenite Jews call their sidelocks simanim () because their long, curled sidelocks serve 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.

Specifics

The Torah 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 – Makkot 20a). 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. 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.

thumb|Jewish haircut (1657)

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.

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.

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 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 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|A religious Jew with beard and payot tucked behind ear

File:Yemen1 (cropped).jpg|A Teimani (Yemenite) Jew with payot

File:Black jew of cochin with peyots (cropped).jpg|A Jew with payot from Kochi, India, 1900

File:Kotel payot1.jpg|A religious Jew with payot, Jerusalem, Israel

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References and notes

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