What is the Upper Border for the Peyos That Must Not Be Cut Short?

The Torah tells us “Lo Sakifu P’as Roshchem” “You shall not round off the corner of your scalp” (Vayikra 19:27). Where are the corners of the scalp? To determine the area of the corners (peyos), one draws an imaginary line from point A to point B, where Point A is the point where the horizontal hairline of the forehead and the vertical hairline on the side of the head meet and Point B is the highest point of the hairline above the ear. All the hair below that imaginary line until the bottom of the ear is considered to be peyos. (Rav Belsky, zt”l who heard this directly from Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky, zt”l Shulchan HaLevi p. 122)

Because we are dealing with an issur di’oraysa (Biblical commandment), some poskim recommend drawing the imaginary line connecting point A to point B as a slight arch, rather than a straight line. This adds some extra space as a margin of error.

The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.