These Halachic guidelines are relevant for the Upsherin or any other haircut.
- The prohibition for a Jewish male to remove his Pe’ot is learned this from the Pasuk (verse) in the Torah, “Lo Sakifu Pe’at Roshchem”,1 You shall not round off the edge of your head. This is an obligation not to remove the hair of his sideburn area, instead there should be a straight line from the hairline behind the ear to the hairline at the front of the head.
- Although one may not completely remove the hair of the sideburn area, he may trim using a number two blade cover, which leaves approximately a quarter of an inch of growth.
- One may not remove any hair in this area. The area begins from the top hairline (at the height where the hairlines on the top of the front of his head and behind his ears converge) and goes down to the bottom of the ear. According to some opinions, the bottom of the Pe’ot is by the middle of the ear, by the bone connecting the upper and lower jaws. As with all Halachic questions, one should consult with his Rabbi for precise Halachic guidelines.
- One must also use caution when cutting slightly above his ear not to cut below this hairline. He should be sure that the barber is knowledgeable in the Pe’ot guidelines or can consult a Rabbi for instructions.
- Although one may trim this area using a number two blade cover, it is customary in many communities to enhance this mitzvah by growing the pe’ot.2
- The Ben Ish Chai3 writes that even those who do not have the tradition of growing lengthy pe’ot should nevertheless allow their pe’ot to grow enough that they remain recognizable. He writes that the pe’ot are testimonials, distinguishing its bearers in their Judaism.4 Indeed, Yemenite Jews would call their pe’ot simanim (signs), as these symbolize our unique identity as Jewish people.
One should not be ashamed of his pe’ot, rather he should carry them with pride and dignity, bearing evidence of his elevated role as a servant of God!
(This page has been reviewed by Harav Yaakov Forchheimer, Rav of Beth Medrash Gavoah in Lakewood NJ.)
>> Read Upsherin Part 2: The Meaning Of The Upsherin and Upsherin Part 3: The Age For The Upsherin Haircut
By Rabbi Mayer Smith
Upsherin Part 4 Sources:
1 Vayikra 19:27
2 In some Chassidic circles, they do not cut the pe’ot at all.
3 Ben Ish Chai, Drush Gimel L’parshas Zachor
4 On a similar note, Rabbi Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik (1886 – 1959) was asked by a disciple as to the meaning of the common Jewish expression “machen pei’os” (Yiddish for “making pe’ot”). Why do we refer to “making pe’ot” in a positive sense, as though the mitzvah is the positive performance of creating sidelocks, when in truth the Torah merely forbids us from cutting the sideburn hair? Rabbi Soloveitchik answered, that indeed leaving pe’ot is a positive performance, as the pe’ot intend to distinguish oneself as a Jewish servant of Hashem (God).
