3,996. Taking the Shortest Route

Hilchos Bias HaMikdash 3:23

If the person who must leave quickly doesn’t turn, but rather he prostrates toward the outside as he exits, he is not liable unless he delays. The duration of a delay that renders one liable is long enough to recite II Chronicles 7:3: “They bowed on the floor with their faces towards the ground, prostrating and giving thanks to Hashem, for He is good and His kindness is eternal.”

Hilchos Bias HaMikdash 3:24

Exiting by a longer route means taking any path for which there is a shorter alternative. If a person takes the shortest route – even if he doesn’t run, but rather strolled, heel to toe so that his exit takes the whole day – he is exempt. If he takes a longer route – even if he runs and pushes himself with all his might so that the time it takes to leave is less than it would take others to leave via the shorter route – he is liable for taking the longer route. Let’s say that someone left via the shortest route but walked a little, then stood and waited a little, continuing in this way until his delays were cumulatively as long as it would have taken to prostrate. In such a case, one is not liable to lashes if he did so intentionally, or to bring an offering if he did so unintentionally, because the matter is the subject of an unresolved doubt. The person is, however, given stripes for acting rebelliously.