I assume you're referring to the curly sidelocks that some Jewish men wear. For the record, I should state this is not a universal practice, and is mostly common among Orthodox Jews, although you will see a few Conservative and even Reform Jews with 'em. To answer your question, it all stems from a command in the Torah, (I'm paraphrasing here,) saying that you shouldn't round off the edges of your scalp. Most feel that this was put in the Torah because at the time of it's writing, it was a pagan practice to shave off one's sideburns. (You'll find many commandments in the Torah were put there as a way of setting oneself apart from other religions at the time- a way of saying 'I am a Jew. This is who I am.') Some people just keep their sideburns long. Others grow big, curly strands. It all depends on how observant you are.
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Name : Lefto, Gender : F, Age : 18, City : Mt Prospect, State : IL Country : United States, If you are asking about the long side curls (in Yiddish, 'peyos') ultra-Orthodox or Hassidic men sport, it is because there is a prohibition in the Bible about shaving one's beard or trimming the corners. If your question is more an ethnic/biological one, then the answer is that not all Jews have curly hair, or dark hair, or the same color skin or size of nose. We come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
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Name : Michele, Gender : F, Religion : Jewish, Age : 37, City : Seattle, State : WA Country : United States, Sidecurls - (peyot) Torah('Torah' refers to the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Also used to refer to the entire Jewish bible-the body of scripture known to non-Jews as the Old Testament)commandment for every Jewish male. The Torah teaches: 'Do not cut off the hair on the sides of your head...' Vayikra 19:27. A Jewish male must leave sideburns (peyot) down to the joints of the jaw that are opposite the ear, approximately a third of the way down the ear. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch in his commentary on the Torah suggests that peyot form a symbolic separation between the front part of the brain and the rear part. The front part is the intellectual, the rear part is the more physical, the more sensual. The wearer of peyot is thus making a statement that he is aware of both facets of his mind, and intends to keep them to their appointed tasks.
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Name : Mark22065, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 40, City : Philadelphia, State : PA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, I believe you are referrring to the sidelocks seen mostly on chasisdic men. there is a biblical commandment to keep them and there are divergent views and customs that relate to the exact observance of the commandment, hence the various 'styles' of sidelocks
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Name : ED25558, Gender : M, Religion : Jewish, Age : 25, City : NY, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, The Torah states that a razor should not be used on the five corners of a man's face. These corners are considered the temples, jaw/cheek bones and chin. For this reason, you will see religious Jewish men with beards and curls at their temples. The curls at the temples are kept long to accentuate the fact that they are not cutting their hair because the Torah says not too. Those religious Jewish men who do not have long curls, nor beards interpret the law as stating that the razor cannot 'touch' your skin. Therefore, they use electric razors on their beards and allow their temples to be cut by the barber.
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Name : Ric Weinstein, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 46, City : Monsey, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : COO, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Upper class, There is a commandment in Leviticus to not cut off 'the corners of the beard' or the 'corners of the head' (referring to shaving off hair on certain parts of the head). Chassidim (plural for Chassid - pronounced with a gutteral 'ch,' not the 'ch' in 'chair') are a group of Jews referred as 'ultra-Orthodox' in that they are very careful in their keeping the commandments, and they follow the Talmudic dictum of 'creating a fence around the Law.' Thus, to avoid shaving that area of hair, many Chassidim do not cut the hair over there at all, allowing it to grow very long. It is then curled so that it looks a little nicer (and shorter) than simply two long locks. 'Modern Orthodox' Jews will cut hair from that region, but will usually be sure to leave something (ie sideburns - you will never see a religious Jew with a shaved head or a 'mushroom' haircut).
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Name : Joseph29115, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 27, City : Philadelphia, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : professional, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, The bible tells us not to shave the edges of our temples, so we leave the hair to grow thereby showing our adherence to that commandment. ['You shall not round off the edge of your scalp' (Leviticus 19:27)]. Some scholars believe that rounding the edges was a pagan practice in Biblical times, so it was forbidden in order to show distance from paganism. Those curls are called payess. How they are worn--short, long, curled, tucked behind the ears, tied up under the hat, etc.--is not a matter of law but custom.
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Name : Sholom, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 30, City : Spring Valley, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Programmer, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class, Differences in clothing and dress due to religious beliefs can vary within a group. Sometimes telling where official doctrine ends and tradition begins can be difficult to determine. There are a number of excellent resorces online for relgious questions, here's a few good answers http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/05-Worship/section-42.html http://jewish.com/askarabbi/askarabbi/askr686.htm http://ohr.edu/ask/ask206.htm#Q4 http://jewish.com/askarabbi/askarabbi/askr304.htm
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Name : Seamus, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 40, City : Richmond, State : IN Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, If you are referring to just natural curly hair, its an ethnic trait of most Jewish people. IF you are talking about the curls worn in the sideburn area by Orthodox or Hacidic (I ahve no idea how to spell it) Jewish men, then that is just a religious symbol for them.
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Name : Jess30773, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Religion : Agnostic, City : Lubbock, State : TX Country : United States, Social class : Upper middle class, I know a lot of Jewish guys and they have curly hair because Jews originally came from the Middle East where people have thicker hair.
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Name : Tali24821, Gender : F, Race : Asian, Age : 18, City : NYC, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Factory Worker, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Lower class, The Torah says, 'You shall not round off the peyos of your head' (Leviticus 19:27). The word peyos refers to sideburns -- i.e. the hair in front of the ears that extends to underneath the cheekbone which is level with the nose. Although I'm not jewish, I would imagine this law was designed to forbid jews from imitating their gentile counterparts, who shaved that particular region
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Name : Jacob, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 30, City : Dallas, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Environmental Chemist, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, For starters, not all Jewish men have 'curls', which I'm presuming you are referring to Orthodox Jewish men's sideburns, also called 'peyos'.. In the Torah, it says 'You shall not round off the edge of your scalp', because in ancient times it was a pagan custom to shave the sideburns... so for more religious Jews, they do not shave their sideburns, while reform, conservative, reconstructionist Jews typically do not..
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Name : Rachel, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 33, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Highly observant Jewish men do not 'take a razor' to 'the corners of their beards'. This biblical commandment is interpreted variously by different communities. Modern orthodox shave with electric shavers rather than razors. Chassidic pietists take the precaution of not shaving at all. In between are those who trim their beards but leave the payos (earlocks) alone as 'the corners'. I think these are the 'curls' you are talking about. Of course, lots of Jews have curly hair, but I think you re referring to the payos.
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Name : Marianne, Gender : Female, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 54, City : Portland, State : OR Country : United States, Occupation : Stage Manager, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I am assuming you are talking of the side locks that chassidic men wear? In the torah it says that men are not to shave that portion of their hair, because they are not to do as the surrounding people did at that time. Many orthodox jewish men do not therefore cut that portionof their hair. Others will cut that but only with scissors or a scissors like device like clippers. Depending on their own religious observance is what dictates the side locks or not. By the way they are called Payos.
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Name : rivka, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : Alaska Native, Religion : Jewish, Age : 36, City : spokane, State : WA Country : United States, Occupation : medical, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Orthodox men. Not all Jewish men.
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Name : Jade19454, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Catholic, Age : 18, City : Sydney, State : NA Country : Australia, Occupation : Student, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Upper class, 
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