Since in the coming days, after Lag B'Omer, many people will be taking haircuts, and also many children will be marked with Jewish identity with their first time hair-cuts and forming of peyos, on the occasion of the Chalakah, we found it necessary to repeat the laws of peyos so that they do not trangress the prohibition of removing the peyos.
The Issur
1. It says in the Torah (ויקרא י"ט, כ"ז), “Do not round off the edge of your head and do not destroy the edge of your beard.” Some say the reason for this issur is because idol worshipers and priests do this (רמב"ם פי"ב ע"ז ה"א ).
2. ‘Rounding off’ means cutting off the hair straight from the forehead, which has no hair, through the area behind the ear, which also has no hair, making the whole spot free of hair (מכות כ: ).
3. Shaving the whole head. If one cuts off all the hair on his head, including his peyos, he also violates this issur (רמב"ם שם, שו"ע יו"ד סי' קפ"א ס"ב ).
4. The one who shaved and the one who got shaved. If one shaves another’s peyos, they both violate the issur, even if the one who got shaved did not facilitate the haircut by turning his head (שו"ע שם ס"ד ), just he does not get malkos if he was totally passive.
5. Non-Jew. Therefore, a Jew may not have a non-Jew cut off his peyos. If one gets a haircut from a non-Jew, he should caution him not to touch the peyos area whatsoever, thus fulfilling a mitzvoh by preventing the issur of cutting off his peyos.
A Woman
6. This issur does not apply to women. However, miderabonon, she may not cut off the peyos of a man or boy (שו"ע שם ס"ו ). Therefore, if a woman gives her sons haircuts, she must know these halochos well and be careful.
The Boundaries
7. By the forehead. The peyos begin at the corner of the forehead, where the hair on the head meets the hair at the side of the head [א in fig.] (יד הקטנה הובא בדרכ"ת יו"ד סי' קפ"א סקי"ג, תמונה מספר לשכנו תדרשו ).
8. By the back of the ear. The peyos extend to the highest point on the natural curve of the hairline above the ear, which is at the halfway point along the ear’s width [ב in fig.] (הסטייפלר בשם החזו"א, ארחות רבינו עמ' רל"ה ).
9. Some say that one should add a bit above the ear. This is measured by raising the top of the ear and pressing it against the head, then adding a drop (סידור האריז"ל ). This comes out to around an etzba (יוסף אומץ ), or 2 cm, above the ear.
10. Strictly speaking, the top of the peyos is a straight, diagonal line from the forehead to the area behind the ear [from א to ב in fig.]. However, some add and use a curved line [ג in fig.] as a hiddur mitzvoh (סטייפלר בשם החזו"א ).
11. The bottom. The peyos extend downwards until the point of connection between the skull and jawbone (רש"י מכות כ. ד"ה חייב על הראש ). The poskim argue exactly where this is (כמה תמונות מתוך 'הלכות תספורת' מהדורת כיס, רב תודות לידידנו הגר"א וויזנפלד ).
12. Some hold that this is midway down the ear, aligned with the middle of the ear canal [1 in fig.] (שו"ת ארץ צבי ח"א סי' ג' אות ה').
13. Others hold it is aligned with the bottom of the ear canal which is where the earlobe begins [2 in fig.] (אמרי אמת הובא בשו"ת ארץ צבי יו"ד ח"ג סי' ה' ושו"ת אמרי יושר ח"ב סי' קפ"ג אות ב', חזו"א בארחות רבינו עמ' כ').
14. Yet others hold it is by the end of the ear, as is implied by the wording of the Mechabeir (שו"ע יו"ד סי' קפ"א ס"ט ), who writes, “until below the ear”. Some explain this to mean until the point where the ear connects to the jaw, which is generally by the middle of the lobe [line between 2 and 3 in fig.]; others say it is until the bottom of the lobe [3 in fig.] (ספר בל תקיף עקה"ד אות י"א ).
15. Bald. One who is bald above the forehead should measure the top of his peyos from where the roots of his hair used to be (לשכנו תדרשו עמ' רנ"ט, הגר"ח קנייבסקי, פאת זקנך אות י"ג ).
16. Receding hairline. One who is not bald, but whose hairline receded from where it was in his youth, should also measure from where his hairline was when he was younger.
Length of the Hairs
17. Razor. Some say that the issur of cutting off the peyos is only when done with a razor which completely removes the hair all the way to the skin, like the issur of destroying the beard (רמב"ם פי"ב ע"ז ה"ו ). This is the first opinion cited by the Mechabeir (שו"ע יו"ד סי' קפ"א ס"ג ).
18. Using scissors like a razor. Others, however, hold that, unlike the issur of destroying a beard, the issur of cutting off the peyos is even when done with a scissors, if done like a razor (רא"ש מכות פ"ג סי' ב'). This is the second opinion in the Mechabeir (שם ). The Mechabeir, along with many poskim (שע"ת שער ג' אות ע"ח, לבוש ס"ג ס"ט, ביאה"ל או"ח סי' רנ"א ס"ב ד"ה אפילו ), concludes that one should be machmir like the second opinion. This is the accepted psak.
19. Length of the hair. In line with this psak, some hold that as long as some hair remains, one does not violate the issur of ‘lo sakifu’ (ש "ך סי' קפ"א ס"ב, חכ"א פ"ט ט"ז ).
20. Most poskim hold that the hairs must be left long enough that it is possible to bend the top of each hair to its root (דרכ"ת סקט"ז בשם הכת"ס, שו"ת מנח"י ח"ד סי' קי"ג ). This is the halochoh.
21. ‘Bending the top to the root’. The poskim hold that this the equivalent of 3-5 mm. long (ס' תגלחת מצוה עמ' קל"ד, לשכנו תדרשו ח"א עמ' ש"א אות ו'). Therefore, the poskim write that one who makes sure to always leave the hair 5 mm. long is certainly safe (פאת זקנם עמ' ל').
22. Electric clipper. When using an electric clipper, the number 2 plastic guard is generally 5-6 mm. long. Therefore, even if one trims the whole peyos area with a 2 or higher, all agree he does not violate the issur of ‘lo sakifu’. Using a 1, on the other hand, gets into a potentially serious issur of cutting off the peyos.
23. Sometimes, the number 2 guard is not 5 mm. long. Therefore, one must ascertain the length of the guard.
Quantity of Hairs
24. Some Rishonim hold that as long as one leaves forty hairs in the peyos region, he does not violate the issur of ‘lo sakifu’ (רמב"ם פי"ב ע"ז ה"ו ). However, most poskim hold that one may not cut off any hairs within the entire boundary of the peyos (שו"ע ס"ט, חכ"א כלל פ"ט סט"ז דרכ"ת סקי"ב, ביאה"ל סי' רנ"א ס"ב ד"ה אפילו ). This is the halochoh since it is a sofeik de’oraiso (ב"י ).
Caution During a Haircut
25. Hairline by the ear. When the barber cuts the hairs by the hairline around the top of and in front of the ear with an electric clipper, scissors, or razor, he must make sure not to cut the hair less than 5 mm. long to avoid any shailos. It is very common for barbers to think that if they leave the peyos, there is no issur. However, the truth is, as explained above, that this is included in the issur. Since it is very difficult to be precise, it is better not to do so at all.
26. Chassidishe haircut. Those who get a number zero haircut must be extremely careful not to cut any hairs near the peyos area, as this can lead to cutting hairs within the peyos area at the end of the hairline by the forehead [א in fig.]. Also, they must make sure not to cut with a number zero until halfway across the width of the ear [ב in fig.]. Some make a mistake and cut hair in front of the ear. Even if one leaves long peyos, it is still ossur to cut off the hair from these areas (תשוה"נ ח"ד סי' קס"ח ).
27. Thinning out sideburns. Those who, wanting to thin out their sideburns within the peyos area, trim these hairs to a length less than 5 mm. are getting into a potentially serious issur of cutting off peyos.
Combing Peyos
28. Some poskim say it is ossur for one to comb his peyos with a comb if doing so will definitely pull out hairs (רע"א גליון הש"ס שבועות ב:, מהר"ם שי"ק ס' המצוות מצוה רנ"ב אות ב'), as we find that a nozir may not comb his hair (נזי ר מ"ב. ).
29. However most poskim hold that one may comb his peyos (חת"ס יו"ד סי' קל"ט הובא בפתח"ת סק"ג, חזו"א דינים והנהגות יו"ד פ"ד אות ו'). The minhag is to be meikel.
Growing Out Peyos
30. Although the issur of cutting off the peyos does not require one to grow them, just not to trim them lower than 5 mm. (above, 21), many grow out their peyos. One reason given for this is to distinguish and separate Jews from among non-Jews. This is the ultimate Jewish appearance and fulfills the posuk, “I separated you from the nations to be Mine” (גאב"ד גאלאנטא, אור פני יהושע, תולדות המחבר ז"ל ).
31. Yemenites refer to peyos as ‘simonim’ since they are a symbolic testimony to what identifies us and sets us apart from non-Jews. ‘A matter is upheld by two witnesses’ (בן איש חיל ח"א ב' ג' לשבת זכור ג' ל' ע"ב ).
32. Some infer this from the wording of the Mechabeir, who writes, ‘No hand should touch the entire width of this area’ (שו"ע יו"ד סי' קפ"א ס"ט ). They interpret this as referring to the length of the peyos as well.
33. The Arizal would not cut his peyos until they reached all the way to his beard. At that point he would trim them since from there and down is not called peyos of the head (שער המצות פ' קדושים, הג' בית לחם יהודה שו"ע שם ). The minhag of pious and virtuous individuals is not to cut them at all (דרכ"ת שם סקט"ז, שו"ת דברי יציב יו"ד סי' ס').
34. In front of the ear. Since peyos are a sign of Jewishness and distinguish us from the nations, some make sure that their peyos stay in front of their ears, not above or behind, to demonstrate that they are proud of them, not ashamed (כן הוא מנהג חסידים, וכן ביקש בעל קהילת יעקב מיוצאי חלציו ).
35. Hagaon Rav Chaim Kanievski requests of those who come to him for a brochoh to leave their peyos in front of their ears [some people, before going in, put their peyos in front, and then put them back behind the ear when they leave. This may be geneivas da’as].
