| Verse: | 19:27 HE |
| Talmud: | Makkot 20a–20b |
| Rambam: | Avodath Kokhavim 12:6 |
| Sa: | Yoreh De'ah 181 |
Sidelocks, often anglicized as (he|rtl=yes|translit=pēʾōt|translation=corners|פֵּאוֹת) or (yi|rtl=yes|translit=pejəs|פּאות), 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.[1] The singular form of the Hebrew pe'ot, pe'a (Hebrew: פֵּאָה), 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 (rtl=yes|label=none|he|translation=signs|סִימָנִים) because their long, curled sidelocks serve as a distinguishing feature in Yemenite society (differentiating them from their Gentile neighbors).
According to Maimonides, shaving the sidelocks was a heathen practice.[2]
The Torah says, "you shall not round off the pe'a of your head ".[3] 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).[4] 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.[5] 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.[6]
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.
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").[7]
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.[7]
Even in some communities where peot are not customary among the men, young boys may grow them until the age of bar mitzvah.
The lengths and maintenance of the pe'ot vary noticeably among Jewish groups.
Most other Hasidic groups wear their payot down and curled.
The Lithuanian Jews are less influenced by Kabbalistic practises, but still retain sidelocks to a degree, in a small number of variant styles:
