Rabbi Eliyahu Blum, who serves as rabbi of the Neve Sha'anan community in Haifa, and head of a Jewish court for monetary law, spoke about a popular haircut among teenage boys and young men, and how it potentially violates Jewish law.
The haircut in question features very little or no hair on the lower part of the head, while on the tip of the head, the hair is left relatively long.
Rabbi Blum, who formerly served as head of the hesder yeshiva in Nahariya, explored the matter in depth, and concluded that any haircut which harms the hair in the area of the "peyot," or sidelocks, may cause the individual to violate the ban on removing hair across the head.
In his opinion, those requesting such haircuts must "be very careful about this."
"When the haircut expresses a clear imitation of a foreign culture, or a manner of arrogance and breach of modesty, there is place to say that it is forbidden due to [the Torah commandment of], 'And in their ways, you shall not walk,'" he wrote.
At the same time, he noted that a "gradient" haircut in itself is not necessarily identical to the styles explicitly banned by the Sages.
"Certainly, it is appropriate for every Torah Jew to consider whether his external appearance expresses respect, modesty, and fear of G-d, as appropriate for those who represent G-d's Name. Therefore, I am not surprised that there are educational institutions which do not allow such a haircut due to the spirit which it brings with it," Rabbi Blum added.
In addition, Rabbi Blum warned that excess hair in the front may cause the tefillin (phylacteries) to sit incorrectly on the head.