Commentary for Menachot 54:12

ורבנן ה"נ דלא צריך והאי דכתב רחמנא אל פני הכפרת למעוטי דרך משופש

And R'Judah, [how does he reply to this] - Had the Divine Law only stated 'into the holy place' and not' within the veil' I might have thought that by the expression 'into the holy place' only 'within the veil' was meant, so that [against entering] into the Temple there is not even a prohibition! And the Rabbis? - You could not possibly have thought so, since the entire Temple is referred to as 'the holy place', as it is written, And the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ex. XXVI, 33.');">¹⁴</span> And what is the reason for R'Judah's view? - If the law is as the Rabbis maintain, the Divine Law should only have stated 'into the holy place within the veil', but not 'towards the front of the mercy-seat', for I should have said, If for entering within the veil one incurs death, how much more so for entering towards the front of the mercy-seat! Why then did the Divine Law also state 'towards the front of the mercy-seat'?

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