Symbolism In Night By Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel mentioned in his Novel "Night" that the prisoners came from a religious community, ¨The Jew of Sighet¨ (p. 3). Yom Kippur was a solemn Jew religious holiday where adults abstained from eating and drinking for long hours, except for sick people, children, pregnant women, or those who gave birth. Jews sought forgiveness of their sins by fasting. Even In a non-ordinary situation like the death camp, some Jews believed that they needed to fast more than any other day to clean their soul and seek forgiveness from God. They could not give away everything and became nonbelievers regardless of the horrific circumstances, especially for Elie, who learned and studied his religion at an early age, ¨ I studied Talmud, and by night I would run to the synagogue to weep over the

``Jew was henceforth forbidden to own gold, jewelry, or any valuables``(p. 10-11), but they kept their faith and prayer from the beginning when Germany's soldiers showed up in their small town. People get their strength from prayer and from believing in God, which made them survive the eighth day of Passover, ``The synagogues were no longer open. People gathered in private homes`` (p. 10), and ``Almost every rabbi's home became a house of prayer`` (p. 10). Prayer united Jews and gave them the power to stay strong. When Jews witnessed the crematorium, ``some began to recite kaddish`` (p. 33). They remembered God, even though they were walking to potential death. For instance, Ellie stated, ``the prayer for death``(p. 33), which seems not expected. Furthermore, mourners showed greatness to God regardless of the horrific tragedy. Religion was everything and the only thing Jews had to survive. For example, when they arrived in Birkenau and felt a little safe, they were jumping for joy, and the first thing they did was thank God for saving them ``Every encounter filled us with joy-yes, joy: Thank God, You are alive!`` (p.