18 – It Is Forbidden to Pass in Front of People Reciting the Amidah

[16]. The Mishnah Berurah 102:15 and Bei’ur Halachah s.v. “Assur” write that the reason for the prohibition is the disturbance it will cause to the person praying. That is the opinion of the majority of poskim, and so writes the Ma’amar Mordechai. However, the Chayei Adam maintains that the reason for the prohibition is that one who passes in front of a person reciting the Amidah interferes with his connection to the Shechinah. There are practical halachic differences (nafka minot) between the reasons. If the reason is disruption, then if the person praying covers his eyes with his tallit, one may pass in front of him.  However, if the reason is because of the honor of the Shechinah, one is forbidden to pass. By contrast, if there is a partition with a height of ten tefachim in front of the person praying, then if the reason is the honor of the Shechinah, the partition is considered a divider and he may pass. But if it is because of distraction, he is prohibited from passing, as cited by the Mishnah Berurah 102:2. The Bei’ur Halachah writes that it is proper to take into consideration the reason that the Chayei Adam presents as well. Still, according to Eshel Avraham Butshatsh, both reasons are mutually dependent, and only when there is a distraction to the person praying is there also an affront to the honor of the Shechinah. (This dispute is not contingent upon the disagreement between the Magen Avraham and Eliyah Rabbah, which is brought further in this chapter, because the Magen Avraham 102:6 also mentions that the reason for the prohibition is the disruption to the person praying. Furthermore, even according to the Eliyah Rabbah one could explain that the affront to the honor of the Shechinah is only when one passes directly in front of the person praying.)