Q. One who came to shul among the first ten, but stepped out to wash his hands or to relieve himself in preparation for prayer, and someone else came in. Who has the zechus of bringing in the Shechina – the person who was originally the tenth, or the next person?
If a shul has a takana that they give preference for aliyos to the first ten people that come; in the above case. who is the chosen one?
A. Horav Shlomo Miller’s Shlit’a opinion is that if he stepped out to fulfill a tefila requirement, his exit does not nullify his early attendance and he maintains his status of being from the first ten.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit’a