Do Haircuts Have to be “Kosher”?

By Rabbi Moshe Wiener, author of the sefer “Hadras Ponim Zokon”

The Torah forbids one to round the corners of his head. This prohibition forbids a man to remove the hair that is found by his temple.

The exact starting point of the payos harosh is found by drawing an imaginary diagonal line connecting the hairline above the forehead (see diagram 1 below), and the hairline behind the ears. Some people have a raised hairline above their forehead (see diagram 2 below).

Some poskim maintain that all people should be stringent and treat the area illustrated in diagram 2 as payos harosh, even if one’s actual hairline is a bit lower. The diagonal line extends to the hairline behind the ears. Many poskim maintain that it extends to the highest point of the hairline, which is above the center of the ear before it begins to slope downwards.

Some have an added stringency to draw the imaginary line depicting the starting point of the payos harosh in a curved manner (see diagram 3 below), thus extending the payos harosh upwards a bit. All hair above this line is not considered payos harosh, while the hair below this line is considered payos harosh.

Figure 2. This picture is intended to demonstrate the starting point of payos harosh and not until where it extends downwards.

When the Torah prohibits removing the hair on the corners of one’s head, it uses the terminology, “Do not round.” This is because the payos harosh, as identified by the imaginary line mentioned above, curves around the head.

Care should be taken not to remove the hair that grow within the area defined as payos harosh.

It is only permitted to trim the payos harosh at a bit of a distance from the skin. Some poskim maintain that the length of each hair should not be shorter than kedai lechof rosho l’ekro – the amount that enables a person to fold the hair over to its root. Others are more lenient and maintain that the shiur is a bit shorter, and that the remaining hair must be long enough to be gripped by one’s fingers.

Many barbers attempt to cut the hair growing on top of the ear either with scissors or with a very close trimmer, and shave that area against the ear. This should not be done, since the hair is being cut very closely to the skin, which is forbidden for the area that is considered payos harosh.

It is forbidden to pluck out the hair from the payos harosh, whether by means of a tweezers or with one’s fingers. Some poskim suggest that combing the payos harosh may be halachically problematic. This is because there is a strong possibility that hairs will be plucked out in the process. However, many poskim disagree and maintain that although plucking the hair is forbidden, nevertheless, combing the payos harosh is permitted.

In a letter of the Rebbe dated 26 Tishrei 5721 (Shaar Halachah U’minhag Vol. 3 page 95) the Rebbe writes that the Chabad custom regarding payos harosh is to follow the position of the Arizal, who held that the hairs of the payos harosh should be cut when they grow long enough to reach the point where the beard begins (i.e., the bottom of the ear, as above) [see also Tzemach Tzedek Y.D. 93:10].