Passing in Front of Someone Praying on a Plane
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Question
During a flight, a group of people stood up to pray in the aisle of the plane. Is it permissible to pass in front of them since they are praying in a place where they are not authorized to pray?
Answer
It is permissible, but it is advisable to be stringent because if you pass in front of them, you may cause them to transgress by making them pass in front of you.
Source
In Orach Chaim, Siman 102, two prohibitions are explained: it is forbidden to sit in front of someone praying because it appears as if one does not want to accept the yoke of the kingdom of heaven, and this is learned from the prayer of Hannah. It is forbidden to pass in front of someone praying because it disturbs the person praying or interrupts the Shechinah. This is learned from the Gemara in Tractate Berachot, where Rav did not step back when Rabbi Yirmiyah was praying there.
Regarding sitting in front of someone praying, one of the permissions is "entering his boundary," meaning if a person prays in a place and time not designated for prayer, it is permissible to sit in front of him because there is no concern that it will appear as disbelief since it is not the place and time for prayer. Nevertheless, the Shulchan Aruch writes that it is advisable to be stringent in this because it may lead to transgression. However, regarding passing in front of someone praying, we do not find this permission explicitly in the words of the poskim.
However, the later authorities write that combined with the leniency that today people are not so focused, it is similar to sitting in front of someone praying and is permissible to pass, but it is advisable to be stringent.
See Azmera Leshimcha 188.
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