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Part of the Yom Kippur sacrificial ritual in the Tabernacle and Holy Temple was sending a goat chosen by lot to be thrown off Azazel, a desert cliff, to its death.

'Satan' rejoices over the additional power granted him through this goat. But in truth, Sam-kel has been tricked by virtue of our repentance and has lost that portion of divine beneficence that was granted to him.

"For on this day he (the High Priest) will provide atonement for you to purify you; before the L-rd, you shall be cleansed from all your sins."

The High Priest used the 42-lettered Name of G-d during his prayer in the Holy Temple on Yom Kippur. However, even as the High Priest started to form the letters of this Divine Name with his lips, he immediately "swallowed" it, not allowing the fully formed word to escape and become contaminated by the air around him.

The teshuva we do throughout the year is suspended until Yom Kippur, when the light from the level of Holy of Holies cleanses the blemishes in the soul. Since each of the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur corresponds to another aspect of the soul, if one devotes oneself thoroughly to teshuva in these days, the purification one experiences on Yom Kippur is complete and all judgments are sweetened.

Yom Kippur is the day of Divine pardon and forgiveness. The atonement obtained on this Holy Day of Atonement does not result from one's repentance and self-purification but from its nature emanating from G-d Himself.

G-d is close to every Jew during the "Ten Days of Repentance" which begin on Rosh Hashanah. This knowledge and innate feeling helps each person make a greater effort to also come closer to G-d, reaching a level of connection akin to the level that Moses reached on Mt. Sinai.