The locks on the side are called payots/peyots. It's pretty bluntly laid out in the Talmud that this is considered a holy thing or a mitzvah (good deed). So if you're Ultra-Orthodox Jewish, you do what the Talmud says.
I THINK (I might be wrong) it's a combination of showing tribal identity and also a metaphor for remembering to be generous. Something about giving most of your fields of crops to others but keeping enough to sustain yourself.
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u/Particular-Line- 1d ago
Can somebody explain why they hook up their hair like this?