Mesorat%20hashas for Menachot 54:13

כדתנא דבי ר"א בן יעקב אל פני הכפרת קדמה זה בנה אב כל מקום שנאמר פני אינו אלא פני קדים

That you might infer that only [for entering] towards the front of the mercy seat is there the penalty of death, whereas [for entering] within the veil there is only a prohibition. And the Rabbis, [how do they reply to this]? - Indeed it was unnecessary, and the only reason why the Divine Law stated 'towards the front of the mercy-seat' in this verse was in order to exclude [from the prohibition] entering by the side.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., any entry into the Holy of Holies not made in the ordinary way through the door on the east with the face looking westward; e.g., by breaking through the north wall or the south wall of the Holy of Holies and entering thereby, or by entering through the door on the east but with the face looking either northward or southward. For such an entry one would not incur any penalty.');">¹⁵</span>

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