<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif">According to the Rambam in <i>Hilchos Klei ha-Mikdash ve-ha-Ovdim Bo</i></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"> (משנה תורה, הלכות כלי המקדש והעובדין בו) 2:13:</div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif">כְּשֶׁנּוֹשְׂאִים אוֹתוֹ עַל הַכָּתֵף נוֹשְׂאִין פָּנִים כְּנֶגֶד פָּנִים וַאֲחוֹרֵיהֶם לַחוּץ וּפְנֵיהֶם לְפָנִים. </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif">When [the Levites] carry the ark on their shoulders, they should carry it face to face, with their backs pointed outward and their faces inward.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></div></blockquote><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Thus those in the front will be walking backwards<span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"> so that they won't </span>be turning their backs to the <span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><i>a</i></span><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><i>ron</i>.</span></span><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif">However, I don't recall ever seeing a depiction of <i>Bnei Yisroel </i>traveling<i> </i>in the desert or of Yehoshua crossing the <i>Yarden </i>with those carrying the the front of the <i>aron </i>walking backwards. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></span></span></div><div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif">Why not?</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif">Yonatan Kaganoff</div><br></div></div>