God was overlooking Elie Wiesel throughout his horrendous journey for, in the end, he was one of the very few to survive.
Wiesel thought of God before and during the Holocaust as both the protector and punisher of the Jewish people. Whatever had happened before, he had faith that it was for their good, or one of God's greater plans. Either way, he would accept God's will without questioning. When rumors of the Nazis' crimes first reached some of the outlying Jewish towns, like Wiesel's Sighet, no one believed them. The rabbis were also saying that nothing will happen to them because needs them. The town felt that God was with them and would protect them from anything as horrible as what these rumors suggested. They felt safe and secure in their faith. "And we, the Jews of Sighet, were waiting for better days, which would not be long in coming now.'' (Night, 5) .
Others who did not feel guilty believed that God at least had a good reason for punishing the Jews. They thought it must be a test. "God is testing us. He wants to find out whether we can dominate our base instincts and kill the Satan within us. We have no right to despair. And if he punishes us relentlessly, it's a sign that he loves us all the more.'' (Night, 42) Faith delayed the revolution that might have erupted in the camps. The younger people felt it would be better to die fighting than to go like lambs to the slaughter. They had knives and a strong will. But their elders reminded them; "you must never lose faith, even when the sword hangs over your head. That's the teaching of our sages.'' (Night, 29) As long as the elders were willing to accept God's will, the younger people were willing to respect their faith.
It was not easy for Wiesel to doubt in God, or he would not have held on to his faith with such tenacity. But sooner or later, the seeming meaninglessness of the suffering his people endured had to burst into the consciousness of his seemingly indomitable Jewish faith.
