[Avodah] long peyot

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

On Wed, May 06, 2015 at 10:31:51AM +0300, Eli Turkel via Avodah wrote:
: The book Keren Zavit says he doesn't understand the custom. The problem is
: not in long sidebruns but rather that the hair from under the ear rarely
: grows long. The long "peyot" usually grow from hair above the  ear and so
: has no connection to peyot and in fact come from part of the head where
: there is no prohibition to shave

The custom is shared by Chassidim, Chidah-influenced Sepharadim (those
with many Qabbalah-based pesaqim) and Teimanim. So there seems to be
an ancient maqor unrelated to any reasons given al pi qabbalah by the
first two groups.

R' Chaim Kanievsky is a living example of a minhag/hanhagah that was once
more common -- not combing one's peyos because of the hairs plucked out.

Rav Dovid Lifshitz, so now we're talking Litta, had two thick blocks
of hair going back from his temples to over his ear.

According to the SA YD 181:9, peyos run as high as the hairline above
the forehead until the bottom of the ear, where the earlobe detaches from
the face.

So the prohibition does include the area the KZ is asking about -- there
are inches of hair between the top of the ear until you get parallel to
the hairline. And this is the very area that the majority of the hair in
long peyos grows from. I therefore don't understand the KZ's question.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Today is the 32nd day, which is
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