Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Caroline Hart
Ms. Crowell
Advanced Composition
11 December 2017
Early on in his life, Elie shows the importance of religion; his faith in God defines his
identity. However, when the Nazis transport him to the concentration camps, he feels that his
faith abandons him. He cannot believe God would let something so terrible happen, especially in
the 20th century. In Elie Wiesels memoir, Night, young Elie guides the readers through his
catastrophic journey and demonstrates how it influences his faith. Even though Elies supposed
loss of faith contributes to his survival, he never truly loses his faith because his anger towards
Elies parents raise him in a strong Jewish household where by day, [he] studies the
Talmud (3) to learn more about his religion. However, Elie wants to learn about the Jewish faith
in a different aspect, so he asks his father if he can study the Kabbalah. His father tells him he
needs to be older, but he insists that he wants to learn it anyways. He feels that his maturity
allows him to comprehend the true value behind the Jewish mysticism. Moishe the Beadle, the
poorest of the poor, offers to tutor Elie without his father knowing. He speaks to Elie for hours
about the Kabbalahs revelations and its mysteries, and in order to learn, they read the Zohar
together. Moishe and Elie do not read it to remember it by heart, but to discover within the very
essence of divinity (5). Elie does not read the Zohar just to learn about it; he reads it to truly
understand the meaning behind the mysticism. Elie has passion for learning more about the
Jewish faith because Judaism impacts his life, and shapes him into the person he becomes.
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During his journey through the concentration camps however, Elie feels that he loses his
faith; he does not doubt Gods existence, but [he] doubts His absolute justice (45). Elie
questions his faith because God lets devastation and disaster take place. Believers expect God to
comfort and do his best by not allowing homicide take place. However, Elie goes from doubting
Gods purpose, to not knowing where God can be found. When Elie sees the young pipel suffer
after the hanging, he becomes very confused and emotional; he hears a voice behind him say
For Gods sake, where is God (65)? He could not answer the question because he, himself did
not know the answer. Elie feels that if God was real than he would be helping him out instead of
Moreover, Elies anger towards God guides him to survival. On the eve of Rosh
Hashanah, many prisoners seem angry and question Gods intensions. How could they bless him
when He caused many children to burn in his mass graves? (67). Prisoners see babies
constantly being thrown into fires, which make them question Gods plans. After thinking and
hearing about the many questions prisoners have, Elie concludes that man is stronger, and
greater than God (67). He realizes that God does not seem to be helping him, so in order to
survive, he decides he needs to depend on himself and the help of others. Also, in the Jewish
religion, The Day of Atonement is when the Jewish believers fast for twenty-five hours straight
without even a sip of water. When this day comes around in the concentration camp, Elie decides
there [is] no longer any reason for [him] to fast (69). Many people think they should fast to
show God that even in a place of misery that they can still sing his praises, but Elie has
completely different thoughts. He no longer accepts Gods intensions; he could not accept his
silence, so he ate. Eating demonstrates a smart decision for Elie. The prisoners already go day by
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day starving and fighting for survival, so instead of fasting for a day, he continued to sip on his
Religion impacts Elie Wiesels life in so many ways. Even though he thinks he loses his
faith during his journey through the concentration camps, he never fully loses it; once he has
faith it never truly goes away. Hardships can make people feel like they lose their faith, but
maybe God is trying to show them how to overcome hardships. Faith indicates an important
aspect in many peoples life during this time, but the fact Elie loses his faith benefits him. He
survives this time in his life, and ends up later on teaching about the Jewish Faith. If Elie can
regain faith during this ordeal, anybody should be able to because nothing can be as hard as what
Work Citied
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Translated by Marion Wiesel, Hill and Wang, 2006.