Life's Elevator Journey

The Ramban says the shofar stands for judgment, yet the pesukim we say about it in the Shemoneh Esrei of Rosh Hashanah speak entirely of mercy. Which is it? And what does it mean that we blow twice to confuse the Satan, or that on Yom Kippur we "bribe" him by afflicting ourselves? Rabbi Asaf Prisman works through both days, then turns to a Mesilas Yesharim on how much pleasure is too much. A guest pays a fortune for a hotel and is led into a bare, dark room, and his complaint to the manager gets a surprising reply.