Tonsure a part of the rite of "pabbajja" and also a part of becoming a monk (Skt. "Bhikshu") or nun (Skt. "Bhikshuni"). This involves shaving head and face. This tonsure is renewed as often as required to keep the head cleanly shaven. The purification process of the "metzora" (one afflicted with "tzaraath") involved the ritual shaving on the "metzorah's" entire body except for the afflicted locations. And as the term tonsure may be used as a broad description for such hair styling of devotees as a ritual symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem, Orthodox Jewish males do not
Tonsure shave the corners of their beards or scalps with straight blades, as described in Leviticus 19:27. Tonsure was not widely known in antiquity. Tradition states that it originated with the disciples of Jesus, who observed the Torah command not to shave the hair around the sides of one's head (Leviticus 19:27). There were three forms of tonsure known in the 7th and 8th centuries: St. Germanus I, Patriarch of Constantinople from 715 to 730, writes "The double crown inscribed on the head of the priest through tonsure represents the precious head of the chief-apostle Peter. When he was sent out