The Role of Faith in Night by Elie Wiezel - Essay Example

How his faith shifted from one phase to another requires a deep understanding on reader’s path regarding Eliezer’s role in Night. This paper intends to discuss the role of faith in the holocaust story. The story begins with an introduction of a boy who was enthusiastic and devoted to study Talmund and learn Cabbala. He had committed his life to learn the teachings of Cabbala. He would cry in his local temple where he prayed over the obliteration of the Temple in Israel. He had raw but strong faith in God at this point.

He would insist his father to arrange a mentor for him to teach him Cabbala and Talmund. When he saw that his father was ever disinterested, he decided to convince a temple assistant, Moshe the Beadle, to help him understand the complicated texts of the Cabbala. His passion toward his learning shows how strong a faith he had in his religion and how much he wanted to learn about God. He wanted to extend his knowledge about his religion. However, since he had blind faith without logic, there were huge chances that his faith would change as he grew up.

We can get the hint because when Moshe asked him why he prayed, he replied why he breathed, which shows the extent of blind faith he possessed. Soon Elie made some heart-wrenching observations which shook his faith in God. He witnessed a burning death ditch in which thousands of babies were laid and used as target practice by the Nazis. It was such a brutal thing to see that Elie was brought to think the first time in his life why God ever allowed human beings to commit such an evil act. He was so shaken and depressed that he started considering committing suicide before he was told to turn away from the death pit.

Elie was unable to forget the shocking scene and this was the first time he started losing faith in God and religion. He was not able to figure out why a just God would ever permit anyone to be so brutal to other innocent human beings. The next event which further weakened Eli’s faith was the public hanging of the “pipel”. When he saw how the little boy was given the deliberate and excruciating death, he also experienced at the same time the death of his faith and beliefs. He considered pipel’s death as divine death as he said that it was not the pipel who was hanged but it was God hanging on the gallows.

Up to this point, Elie’s beliefs had abandoned. He had given up his loyalties toward God. His faith had been shattered to pieces and he had no plans to collect those shattered pieces and join them up again. As a token of expression, he stopped praying to God. He did not pray on the holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. He announced during the New Year celebrations that he had accused God who was answerable to him. However, this shift in his faith did not satisfy Elie internally. He knew that he was restless and empty from inside, when he should have been feeling satisfied upon accusing the guilty one.

Elie was without help and was blank. The rebellion against God strengthened when Elie stopped practicing any religious ritual and did not even fast on the Day of Atonement. He was encouraged by his father who had always been disinterested in Elie’s faith. Elie made sure he “swallowed” his meals on the Day of Atonement expressing his rebellion against God and faith. However, faith had still not died entirely. Elie experienced some portion of it coming back to him which forced him to pray twice. Or