Eliezer’s Struggle to Keep his Faith in God
The book, Night, authored by Elie Wiesel narrates his experiences at theAuschwitzconcentration camp. It describes the horrific events of the Holocaust. A major conflict in Night is Elie’smuch struggle with his faith in God, which gradually change from fervently believing in God to denying Him to unbreakable faith in God by the time he leaves the concentration camps. While Eliezer perceives God as being indifferent to the anguish of His people, Eliezer does not himself become indifferent to his God, instead strives to be noticed by God, whether through praying or trying to punish God. It is God that Eliezer turns to as his source of strength in the times of extreme despair, testament that his faith God remains steadfast. Night depicts the Jewish faith in one of its historic moment of extreme darkness evident in Eliezer’s firsthand experience of the horror at the Auschwitz concentration camps that tests his faith to the core.
At the beginning of Night, Eliezer has absolute faith in God. He loves God unconditionally s a result ofstudying Jewish mysticism. When questions as to why he prays to God, Eliezer replies, “Why did I pray? Why did I live? Why did I breathe?” (Wiesel2).He spends the better part of his life studying the Talmund and praying in the synagogue during night hours. Eliezer does not only desire to lead a life of total reverence to his God but also increase his knowledge in the lore of the cabbala. However, Eliezer’s father is opposed to his study of the cabbala, but the son defies this:”found a master for [himself], Moshe the Beadle.” (Wiesel 2). Through Moshe the Beadle, Elie learns “the revelations and mysteries of the cabbala” (Wiesel 3). This makes Eliezer’s devotion to his God even more steadfast.
At the Auschwitz concentration camp, Elie struggles to maintain his faith in God as he cannot reconcile how a loving God can allow his people to be put through such great anguish. Particularly, Eliezer’s faith is shaken during the first selection at Auschwitz. For the first time ever, he feels the urge to defy his Godas evident in his words: “Why should I bless His name? The Eternal, Lord of the Universe, the All-Powerful and Terrible, was silent. What had I to thank him for?” (Bloom31). While majority of his fellow captives believe in redemption, Eliezer “did not deny God’s existence, but doubted His absolute justice” (Bloom42).
In the course of his imprisonment, Eliezer loses hope from time to time not only in freedom but also in his God. Eliezer is asked during the hanging of a young pipel, “Where is God now”, and he responds, “Where is He? Here he is? He is hanging here on this gallows” (Bloom62). Prayer was always Eliezer’s wayof pleading for forgiveness of his sins but he has now “ceased to plead” (Wiesel65).He has now become “the accuser, [and] God the accused” (Wiesel65).The brutality and evil of the Holocaust greatly shakes Eliezer’s faith in God.
Eliequestions God’s existence and love in the face of the cruelty and pain surrounding him. Upon reflecting on his devotion, he rediscovers his committed to God. Throughout his painful experiences during the Holocaust, Eliezer confesses to have given up on his God though continues to think spiritually. For instance, he regrets the lack of prayers at his late father’s grave (Bloom 106). On the day of Rosh Hashanah, Eliezer cries out in vain, “When you were deceived by Adam and Eve, when Noah’s generation displeased you, when Sodom no longer found favor in your eyes; but these men here, whom you betrayed, what do they do?” (p. 64).Eliezer is able to come of the place of the death and turmoil with a steadfast faith in God.
Works Cited:
Wiesel, Elie, and Marion Wiesel. Night.. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2011.
Bloom, Harold. Elie Wiesel’s Night. New York: Bloom’s Literary Criticism, 2010.
