How far do you have to travel to go to a minyan (prayer quorum)? You’re traveling on the road and arrive in a city where you’re going to sleep. If you continue on your trip and there is a minyan within four mil ahead of you, you have to go; if it is behind you, the distance is one mil. That’s the halakha (Jewish law).
So the Mishnah Berurah says: Let’s say he’s going to continue his trip in the morning. If there’s a minyan ahead on his route, he’ll wait until he gets there and arrive in time for prayer. It’s only when he’s continuing on his road; going to the side is considered going backwards. Obviously, we’re talking about a case where he won’t have to travel alone. Traveling at night is so dangerous. He said we’re also talking about a case where he can get to the place while it’s still light outside, because he won’t have to go out of the city. You always have to enter the city while it’s still light, especially when it’s a new place you’re not familiar with. Normally, I really want you not to pray early. But if he’s on the road and has ten men with him, he can pray; it’s not a problem. A guy at home is considered as though he’s going backwards. Meaning, therefore, for God to say, those living in the settlements within a mil, whether they have to travel the mil every day to pray—but not at night, because you can’t go on the road at night. For the minyan, you don’t have to go at night to the firm minyan. That’s why, for those people living in the city and praying in the synagogue in the middle of the night, there’s a rebuke against them, especially where we live. We’re all within a mil of a synagogue; every block has a synagogue. Therefore, there’s really no excuse for a person to be lazy about praying with the minyan.
Someone says that a man should not leave a city where people pray if he can reach a place by day and should not have to travel alone after the prayer. Okay, what is this halakha saying? There are some who want to say that a person—or all the more so—should avoid leaving early from a city where 10 people pray together. This applies only if he postpones his journey until after the prayer, can still arrive at his destination while it’s still day, and will not be required to travel on his own after the prayer.
Let’s see what Rosh Hashanah is saying here. Let’s look at Rosh Hashanah first. The guy is traveling, let’s say voluntarily for business and other things. He’s leaving to go to a place related to prayer. Well, let’s see what this case is again. The case is that he should not get up early and leave the city where they pray. If he can stay in the city, pray, and then get to his destination without having to travel alone, he should do that. But if there’s a caravan leaving, then you don’t have to travel alone.