Chinuch explains the effect of concrete action upon the human psyche:

Our hearts cannot be purified by mere lip service, by our crying out to the four walls, "I have sinned." Rather, we must undertake a considerable burden, removing goats from their pen, and bringing them to the Temple, seat of the priesthood. Through such acts we will grasp the wickedness of sin and avoid it in the future.

Man is limited by nature. As part of the human experience, he must learn about the abstract through the concrete means his intellect is capable of absorbing.