For the source text click/tap here: Kiddushin 35
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The Mishna (29a) taught that women are obligated to refrain from all mitzvot lo ta’aseh – negative commandments – with the exception of three:
Bal takif (not to shaving their payot – the “corners” of the hair on one’s head – see Vayikra 19:27)
Bal tash’hit (not to shave one’s beard – according to the Gemara, with a razor – see Vayikra 19:27)
Bal titmah le-metim (a kohen cannot come into contact with a dead body – see Vayikra 21:1).
The Gemara argues that the law that applies to the beard also applies to the payot, and since women do not ordinarily have a beard, the prohibition against shaving one’s beard does not apply to them, thus the prohibition against cutting payot does not apply to them either.
We explore the biblical and rabbinic prohibitions around shaving.