Night: Eli's Faith In God

The book, Night, was written by Elie Wiesel to portray his experiences at a concentration camp. The book describes the gruesome events of the Holocaust. One of the main conflicts in Night is Elie's struggle with his faith. Elie's beliefs change throughout Night from passionately believing in God to denying him but leaves the concentration camps with an unbreakable faith.

Eliezer's faith in God is absolute at the beginning of Night. His love for God is unconditional, a result of his studies of Jewish mysticism. When Eliezer is asked why he prays to God, he replies, "Why did I pray? [...] Why did I live? Why did I breathe?" (p. 2) His life consisted of "[studying] the Talmud, and at night [praying at] the synagogue." (p.1) Not only does he want to live a life of reverence for his God, he wants to expand his knowledge in the lore of the cabbala. His father does not want him to study cabbala, but Elie, going against his father's word, "found a master for [himself], Moshe the Beadle." (p. 2) Moshe the Beadle taught Elie "the revelations and mysteries of the cabbala." (p. 3) Eliezer's devotion to his God is steadfast.

Elie struggles to maintain his beliefs when he enters the concentration camps. Eliezer cannot imagine a loving God that puts his people through great anguish. His faith begins to faulter during the first selection at Auschwitz and feels for the first time to defy his God and says, "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?" (p. 31) Many prisoners believe in redemption, but Eliezer "did not deny God's existence, but doubted His absolute justice." (p. 42) Throughout his imprisonment, Eliezer begins to lose hope in freedom and in his God. During the hanging of the young pipel, Elie is asked, "Where is God now", he answers, "Where is He? Here he is - He is hanging here on this gallows." (p. 62) Prayer is a way for Eliezer to plead for forgiveness of his sins and now he "ceased to plead." (p. 65) Eliezer was now "the accuser, God the accused." (p. 65) Eliezer's beliefs are shaken by the evil and brutality of the Holocaust.

Although Elie's faith is tested, he manages to keep his faith intact. At the very beginning of Night, Moshe the Beadle is asked why he prays, he responds by saying, "I pray to the God within me that He will give