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If R' Schneur Zalman of Liadi had long Peoth, as in this famous sketch, why is it not the custom in Lubavitch circles these days for adult men to maintain long, emphasized Peoth as it is in many other Hasidic groups?

(Of course this is not strictly a Hasidic custom; there are many others who grow out their Peoth. I'm just comparing the practice of one Hasidic group against, it seems, nearly all the others.)

HodofHod
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Seth J
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  • See here: http://chabadtalk.com/forum/showthread.php3?t=30 – HodofHod Mar 01 '12 at 06:27
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    Fun fact: From The Jews of Teman (Days of Exile and Days of Redemption) by Rabbi Dr. Aharon ben Dawid pg. 14. The dress of the Jews until then [1673 leminyanam] was honorable garb, with wide sleeves like important Muslims; they wore headdresses on their heads, and they did not grow out their peyoth at all. ... cont – avi Mar 01 '12 at 06:59
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    ... Almadi Ismail [the Turkish ruler who came into power at this time] decreed upon the Jews to remove their headdresses, a symbol of pride, and go bareheaded, and this for them was a disgrace. To increase their degradation it was decreed that they should grow out their sidelocks and walk with their sidelocks (called Zenanir by the goyim and simanim by the Jews) out in the marketplaces and streets and everywhere else. – avi Mar 01 '12 at 06:59
  • What happens if you dont have a beard i think that people are getting mixed up if the ari says that to separate between the beard then you should have a beard –  Dec 19 '13 at 00:25
  • Related: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/35677 – msh210 Feb 21 '14 at 02:12

2 Answers2

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The Lubavitcher Rebbe said that the custom among Lubavitch was to cut the Peos.

He said that there are a few reasons, one of which is to avoid mixing the two types of light from the 13 strands of the beard. He also mentioned that the Arizal used to cut his Peos (as is written in the Shaarei Hamitzvos and Taamei Hamitzvos parshas Kedoshim).

ertert3terte
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  • ..and here is the original. – HodofHod Mar 01 '12 at 06:33
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    Then how did he account for the famous sketch of the Alter Rebbe? – Seth J Mar 01 '12 at 06:37
  • @SethJ its very easy to argue that the sketch does not show payot, but just bushy hair. Same with the chavetz chaim sketch. You will notice that all the pictures you show from modern times, have very different looking peyot than the older pics. – avi Mar 01 '12 at 07:03
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    @avi It is a very old picture. I don't doubt it is not 100% as accurate as a photograph would have been, but I have a hard time accepting that he just happened to have bushy hair around his ears. – Seth J Mar 01 '12 at 15:27
  • @SethJ: or it might simply be that the artist (a non-Jew) got this particular detail wrong in his sketch. (In a somewhat similar way, the picture of the Tzemach Tzedek - also drawn by a non-Jewish painter, though in that case from memory - got several details wrong.) – Alex Mar 01 '12 at 15:57
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    An important aspect of the Rebbe's letter is "Kivan D'Nafak M'Pumiya D'Rav Kahana". If the Arizal did it, we should be Mehader to follow it. – Menachem Mar 01 '12 at 16:05
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    @SethJ Wild speculation: If I'm not mistaken, this sketch was done by a non-Jewish artist while the Alter Rebbe was imprisoned. It's possible that he did not have access to a barber for a while, or that he didn't trust the prison barber to touch his peyos. Also, it's possible that, as Alex said, the artist (intentionally or unintentionally) drew his peyos wrong. – HodofHod Mar 01 '12 at 16:35
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    @HodofHod nevermind not trusting - it's halacha (Avodah Zarah 27a, Yoreh De’ah 156:1) – yoel Mar 01 '12 at 16:50
  • @yoel, see here for why that would most likely not apply in this case. – HodofHod Mar 01 '12 at 17:29
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    The Rebbe cites Kisvei Ha'Arizal that the Arizal would cut his payos. The source for other Chassidim having long payos is in Nitei Gavriel (on the Minhagim of Upsherenish) he quotes one of the Belzer Rebbe's as saying that the reason why they have long Peyos is to be different from the goyim. But there are no real sources that one should grow their Peiyos long. –  Mar 01 '12 at 18:24
  • In the book of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Mireminov also this explanation is given. – kouty May 19 '16 at 18:57
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    Note that the way it is described in Kisvei Arizal and the way Lubavitchers actually cut are quite different. –  Jun 26 '17 at 03:26
  • The Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe had long peyos - how does he account for that? –  Jul 01 '18 at 20:47
  • @ShmuelBrin So the Lubavitcher Rebbe would say that the place where the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe lived the custom was to wear long peyos, and in the place where he lived the custom is to wear short peyos? –  Jul 01 '18 at 22:51
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    @ShmuelBrin Re the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe: http://chabadinfo.com/video/frierdiker-rebbes-payos-long-or-short/ - that was in America. And the Arizal's peyos are described in the Beis Lechem Yehudah here –  Jul 11 '18 at 17:06
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Years ago, I was told that the Chabad Chasdidim wear short peyos because there had been, at one time, a law in Russia forbidding peyos. They then started wearing short peyos, which they continued wearing since that time.

R. G.
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