a) Regarding that which the gemara discussed about a woman walking between 2 men, are the harmful effects the gemara speaks of still in effect nowadays?
b) If it did happen that a woman walked between 2 men, in practice should they say the pesukim mentioned in the gemara?
c) Also, if one sees a woman with her husband walking toward him on the street, and he is walking towards them, does the hakpada on her not passing between two men apply her too, even they are going in opposite directions?
Thank you,
Yosef Gesser
Dear Yosef,
Thanks for your questions.
a) According to most Poskim, the Halachah nowadays is the same as it was then. The Halachah can be found in the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (3:8). It is also known that the Chazon Ish was adamant that the danger still exists. (The Ben Ish Chai, on the other hand, maintained that nowadays the powers of evil have weakened, thus the situation is slightly different. Nonetheless, he maintains that one should try to avoid walking between two women.)
b) According to the above, I see no reason why not to say the Pesukim mentioned in the Gemara.
c) There is an opinion that the prohibition applies only to people who are stationary. Nevertheless, one should make an effort to avoid such a situation. This can be done by having two men walk together or by holding an item in one's hand as one crosses between the two women.
All the best.
Yehuda Landy