Why do Jewish men have beards?

Answer 1

The reason why some Jewish men have long sideburns is because the Torah specifies that men should not damage the 'corners' of their head. So that they don't accidentally cut themselves on this place on their head, they don't shave that spot. Those who have very long curls don't cut their hair in that spot as a precautionary measure.

Answer 2

Leviticus 19:27 - "You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor destroy the edges of your beard."

Many Jews have voluntarily taken upon themselves a stringent interpretation of the above verse, according to which the beard isn't shaved, or is trimmed but not shaved completely. As such, many Jewish men have beards (it's the reason I have one, too). However, as tends to be the case in Judaism, this law is open to Rabbinic discussion and there are other ways in which the verse can be interpreted - some halakha-authorites say that it bans only the use of a razor which cuts the hair against the skin and thus it is acceptable to trim the beard with scissors or to shave it completely with an electric razor that doesn't shave too closely.

Answer 3

There is a command in Torah that says not to mar (cut or shave) the corners of the beard. It is generally assumed this differentiated Israel from the pagan customs of the time. Nevertheless, the command did not come with an end date. Yet while there is no command to actually grow a beard (or long sideburns- sideburns over beards being seen more in Hasidic Judaism), it has been pointed out that if you shave, it will grow back and when it does we are not to mar the corners. Whether you agree with that or not, this is why they have them and how it came to be.

Answer 4

They are called Peyis... pronounced (Pay·is) they wear them to signify that G-d is always around them.

Correction:

Religiously observant Jewish men wear their hair longer at the sides of their head because of an injunction in the Torah that says:

"You shall not round off the 'pe'at' (corners) of your head. (Leviticus 19:27)

The Hebrew pronunciation is 'payot'

CORRECTION TO THE CORRECTION:

The Hebrew pronunciation depends on if one is Ashkenazi or Sephardic. The Ashkenazi use the S while the Sephardic (on which Israeli Hebrew is based) uses the T. You see this in the Shabbat vs Shabbos spelling of the Sabbath.

Answer 5

side locks are called pe'ot or peyes, but not all Jewish men have them.

There is a prohibition the The Bible against shaving the corners of the head. Some Orthodox Jewish men take this to mean that she must grow that hair long. Others take it to mean they must have some sort of sideburn.