Rabbi Avraham Yosef, son of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, yesterday (Sunday) sharply criticized the phenomenon of haircuts in which the sidelocks are shaved in a way that leaves no hair at all.
"I look to the right and to the left at all the barbers of various kinds - and my heart aches," Rabbi Yosef said on Kol Chai radio.
He stressed that responsibility should not be placed only on the barber: "They put everything on the barber, and that's not correct," he said.
The rabbi compared the severity of the matter to eating forbidden foods: "A person who goes this way transgressed two prohibitions, as if he ate two portions of pork." He emphasized that if one does not leave "enough hair to grasp" in the sidelock, it is a severe transgression of a biblical commandment.
In his remarks he explained the difference between the prohibition regarding the beard and that concerning the sidelocks. Regarding the beard, the prohibition depends on "destruction", and therefore "scissors like a razor" are permitted, whereas for the hair of the head the prohibition depends on the act of "rounding". "If there is not hair left to grasp - he has transgressed 'do not round off the corners of your heads'."
Concluding his remarks he called on parents and the public to raise awareness of the issue and not remain silent: "Parents should insist that their children present a Jewish appearance. Every God-fearing person should try to admonish, not to be silent, not to tolerate. Wake up, pay attention and urge people to walk in the way of the Torah."