Elijah the Tishbite once appeared to Rav Yehudah, brother of Rav Salla the Holy, and the prophet asked him a question that could only come from a man who walked between worlds: “Why does the Messiah not come, seeing that today is Yom Kippur?”
Rav Yehudah answered with a question of his own. “What does the Holy One, blessed be He, say about that?”
“He says, ‘Sin lieth at the door’ ” (Genesis 4:7). Israel is not yet ready.
“And what does Ha-Satan, the Accuser, say?”
Elijah smiled. “Nothing. He is silent. He has no permission to accuse anyone on the Day of Atonement.”
“How do we know this?”
Ramma bar Chamma provided the proof through gematria, the numerical value of Hebrew letters. The letters of Ha-Satan — heh, samech, tet, nun — add up to 364. The solar year has 365 days. For 364 of those days, the Accuser is permitted to stand in the heavenly court and prosecute Israel. But on the 365th, on Yom Kippur itself, his mouth is stopped.
Remember that in Jewish teaching Ha-Satan is not a rebel. He is an angel in God’s court, the prosecuting attorney, tasked by God to test hearts and name sins. On Yom Kippur even the prosecutor takes a day off, and the defense has the floor for twenty-five hours. That is why the gates are open.