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Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 102
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Read the full text in the readerOrach Chayim Siman 102
Orach Chayim Siman 102 is a source-text unit from the Shulchan Arukh with 5 seifim. Its reading map separates the practical rule, its conditions and the points that need comparison with the surrounding text.
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Original text
<b>שלא להפסיק כנגד המתפלל. ובו ה סעיפים:</b><br>אסור לישב בתוך ד' אמות של מתפלל בין מלפניו בין מן הצדדין (בין מלאחריו) (תוס' ומרדכי ואשר"י פ' אין עומדין) וצריך להרחיק ארבע אמות ואם עוסק בדברים שהם מתקוני התפלות ואפי' בפרק איזהו מקומן אינו צריך להרחיק ויש מתיר בעוסק בתורה אע"פ שאינו מתיקוני התפלות ויש מי שאומר דהני מילי מן הצד אבל כנגדו אפי' כמלא עיניו אסור ואפי' עוסק בקריאת שמע:
One May Not Disrupt Someone Who Is Praying It is forbidden to sit within four cubits of one who is praying [the Amidah], whether in front of [that person] or to the side of [that person] (or behind [that person]) (Tosefot, Mordechai, and Asher ben Yechiel [i.e. the Rosh] in Chapter Ein Om'din [Chapter 5 of B'rakhot/B'rakhot 30b]) and one must distance oneself [from the one praying] four cubits. And if one is involved with things that have to do with prayer, even the chapter of Eizehu Mekoman (i.e. the Korbanot part of the prayers), one need not distance oneself [from the person praying]. There are those that permit [being within four cubits of someone praying] when one is engaged in Torah, even though it is not related to prayer matters. And there is one who says that that this [permission] applies [when one is] to the side [of the one praying], but if one is in front [of the one praying] as long as it is in [the one praying's] line of sight, it is forbidden, and even if one is involved in the recitation of the Sh'ma.
ויש מי שאומר שאם היושב בצד המתפלל חלוש מותר:
There are those who say that if the person sitting next to the one praying is weak, it is permitted.
אם היושב ישב כבר ועמד זה בצדו אין צריך לקום שהרי זה בא בגבולו (מ"מ מדת חסידות הוא לקום אפי' בכה"ג) (ב"י בשם מהרי"א):
If the one sitting was already sitting and a person stood [to pray the Amidah] next to [the first] one, one does not need to get up [and move], because [the one who came to pray] came into one's boundary. (Nevertheless, it is a pious trait to get up even in such a case) (Beit Yosef in the name of Mahariyah) .
אסור לעבור כנגד המתפללים בתוך ד' אמות ודוקא לפניהם אבל בצדיהם מותר לעבור ולעמוד:
It is forbidden to pass within four cubits of those who are praying. And [this is] specifically in front of them; but to their side, it is permitted to pass by and stand.
אם השלים תפלתו והיה אדם אחר מתפלל אחריו אסור לפסוע שלש פסיעות עד שיגמור מי שאחריו את תפלתו שאם יעשה זה הרי הוא כעובר כנגד המתפלל וצריך לדקדק בזה אפי' אם האחרון התחיל להתפלל אחריו מאחר שכבר התחיל:
If one completed one's prayer and there was another person praying behind one, it is forbidden to take three steps [backward] until the person behind one finishes [that person's] prayer, because if one does this (i.e. if one takes three steps back), one is like someone who passes in front of somebody who is praying. And one needs to be precise about this even if the one behind began praying after one, once one has already started [praying].
English translation: Sefaria Community Translation · CC0