Why is it that Jewish men have curls?
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Name : Jennifer, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, Age : 21, City : Harlem, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Not all jewish men use the side curls. There are two mayor jewish groups in the world, the Ashkenazic and the Sefaradic. The Ashkenazic are the jews from the northern european and slavic countries such as Poland, Rumania, Russia, Germany, etc. Only some highly religious Ashkenazic jews use the curls. They never cut their side-curls as they interpret the verse which forbids them to shave off the 'corners of their heads' in the strictest sense. Anyhow, the vast mayority of jewish men DON'T use the curls. Like I said, it's only the highly religious among a particular group of Ashkenazic jews.
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Name : Aileen-G, Gender : F, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Jewish, Age : 15, City : Caracas, State : NA Country : Venezuela, Occupation : student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, Hmm... I know quite a few Jewish guys with dark, curly hair -- I think that's just genetic. I'm Jewish, my family's originally from Eastern Europe, and none of us have curly hair. I think it sounds like you're asking about payos, the sidelocks -- one of my non-Jewish friends calls them 'super-sideburns.' Not the most erudite description but that about sums it up. In very traditional, Orthodox Jewish communities it's customary for the men to grow out their sidelocks, wear black hats, black pants and shoes, also tzitsis -- a fringed undergarment, with 4 tassels hanging out from underneath the shirt. The tzitis are Biblically mandated so that we remember mitzvot, God's commandments -- er... somewhere in Exodus or Leviticus, I believe, forgive me if I can't find the citation. It's the same idea as tallisim -- fringed garments worn by many Jews during morning prayers. There are some real differences here with different levels of observance -- ultra-Orthodox, some modern Orthodox and some Conservative Jews will wear the fringes all of the time. But getting back to the payos and the hats and the dark clothing, I'm not entirely sure how those traditions started. Funny thing about Jewish traditions, sometimes it's easier to explain how we do something than why. Good question and I'd love to know if someone out there has an answer.
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Name : Adam25149, Gender : M, Religion : Jewish, Age : 18, City : Nashville, State : TN Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Assuming you mean the long curls that some Jewish men have at their temples: this is oversimplified, but it's so that they won't risk doing serious injury to themselves by shaving near a major blood vessel, there at the temple. Also why they don't shave, since that's near the neck. And to anticipate another question: different sects of Judaism, like different sects of other religions, interpret religious teachings differently, so some Jewish men are willing to shave with a safer razor (like an electric razor), etc. Or they're just not as strictly observant... like with pretty much any other religion.
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Name : Paul30484, City : New Braunfels, State : TX Country : United States, it's not just men, many jewish women have curly hair as well. it's an ethnic thing -- jews are mostly descended from the same group of people, some of whom presumably had curly hair genes.
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Name : lily22927, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 17, City : boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, I assume what you are referring to are the curly sideburns that orthodox jewish men wear, not just curly hair in general. These curly sideburns are called 'payes' - quite simply, jewish law states that jewish men should not cut the hair above the cheekbone. Many religious jews cut the sideburns just onder the cheekbone and then pull it behind the ear so it is less noticable, while others let the sideburn grow long, at which point is usually curls into a ringlet. The length of the sideburn varies from family to family, as differences run rampant in every culture, including jewdaism.
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Name : Rob, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 31, City : Ft Lauderdale, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Philosopher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, By 'curls' do you mean the long curly bits hanging in front of their ears? If so, then here is the explanation. The Old Testament includes a prohibition against cutting 'the corners' of the hair. Some Jews interpret this to mean that they should leave the hair of their sideburns to grow untamed. Many other, equally Orthodox Jews simply keep their sideburns trimmed but let them extend longer than they might otherwise (below the middle of the ear, for example). You wouldn't notice that, because those Jews typically don't dress in a way that stands out other than always wearing a hat. (There are even some Jews who use a depilatory, rather than a razor, to sidestep the issue.) The Jews that dress distinctively do so mostly to set themselves apart, not because their religion requires it. They certainly wouldn't try to claim that Abraham wore a black suit, white shirt, and conservative tie. Rather like the Amish, they have frozen their dress code in time.
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Name : JerryS, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 52, City : New Britain, State : CT Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Since the Jews do not often intermarry with non-Jewish people, they are to some extent an ethnic group as well as a religion. I've met Jewish men with both straight hair and curly hair, but curly hair is a bit more common among Jews than other Caucasian groups. It's my understanding that their hair simply grows that way, and it's not that they make any particular effort to curl it. Curly hair is common in other Semites such as Arabs.
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Name : Matt, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Oxford, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, If you are talking about the long, sideburny curls that Orthodox men often have, it is a religious tradition. One of the obligations/commandments (mitvot) for Jewish men is to not completely cut/shave off their sideburns. Some men simply wear their sideburns a bit farther down, while others will have 'peyot' or the long sidelocks in order to try and keep the spirit of the mitzvah more fully. Just plain curly hair however? That is just a trait that many Eastern-Europeans, and by corollary, many Eastern-European Jews share.
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Name : Heather21481, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 20, City : Northeast, State : MO Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, many people, including many jewish men, inherited a gene from thier parent(s) that causes their hair to be curly. hair curls because it grows out of a oval folical as opposed to a round one. not all jewish men have curly hair. you are an idiot.
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Name : melvin21809, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : okinowan-russian-mexican-basque, Religion : Unitarian, Age : 18, City : la habra, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : tattoo artist, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Not sure what you mean. Some very religious Orthodox Jewish men, such as Lubovich Jews, wear curls on the side of their head for religious reasons. If you're asking why secular Jewish men tend to have curly hair, it's for the same reason that many African American men have curly hair. It's genetic.
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Name : Rachel, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 33, City : Denver, State : CO Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
EJParticipant
I am assuming you are talking about what we refer to as 'Peiy-ot' or 'Peiy-is.' That is what we refer to as 'side burns.' In the Old Testament/Torah, men are forbidden to put a razor blade to their face or cut above the joint where your jaw moves when you open and close your mouths. Most 'modern orthodox' men, when getting a haircut will not allow the stylist to cut their sideburns. However, some ultra-orthodox men (which you probably see in the Hasidic sects on the streets of New York) take that more literally and NEVER cut the hair that grows off of their sideburns and it just gets longer and longer. Some men hide it behind their ears, others let it flow. But why it its curly, perhaps for fashion, but if you have straight hair it would just hang strait.
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Name : EJ, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 28, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, All Jewish men do not have curls? I am not an authority,but I am married to a Jewish man. you are refering to a group called Hasidic. This is a very devout order of Judiasam. There are other groups also.Reformed,Conservative and Orthrodox a lot of these have difference's in keeping Kosher. Which is foods that God told in the Bible to eat. I might add as a closing note my husband is almost bald LOL and has been ever since I knew him.
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Name : Alice31382, City : Kokomo, State : IN Country : United States, The curls (called 'peyos') are worn by very observant Jewish men due to Leviticus 19:27, which forbids closely cutting the hair on the side of the head. The hair does not have to be curled, but some do in order to 'beautify' and honor the commandment.
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Name : Jessica30659, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 23, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Why does anyone have curly or straight hair. It's genetics. And not all jewish men have curly hair. If you mean, why some in jewish groups (for example orthodox) men don't cut the hair on the side. That goes back to the law that God gave to Moses, in which it said that jewish men should not cut the hair on the side. This served the purpose to distinct them from the pagan nations that surrounded them and seperate them from idol worship.
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Name : Lydia, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jehovahs Witness, Age : 26, City : Brooklyn, State : NY Country : United States, 
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