Moishe is Elie’s teacher of the Cabbala. He became the main character’s indirect mentor within Elie’s religious struggle. For Eliezer, Moishe is a significant person since he introduced the bot to the religious world.
Detailed answer:
Moishe the Beadle appears only at the beginning of the book. However, his values sound during the entire story. This character embodies a firm commitment to the essentials of Judaism. Moishe is a teacher who educates Eliezer about Cabbala. He tends to describe himself, humanity, and life overall as a part of the universe’s numerous enigmas. Moishe also claims the central role of God in the search for truth. The words of Moishe shape the struggle of Eliezer’s perception of faith, which is the main theme of Night.
At the very beginning of Night, Elie had a truly strong relationship with God. As described in the book, Elie is infatuated with the works of the Kabbalah. When Moishe asked him why he was praying, Elie couldn’t think of an answer. He simply felt the necessity to do this. This reflects the author’s belief that religion is a basic need for survival. After moving to the concentration camp, Elie retained his faith in God as the situation worsened.
When Elie had to witness the slow execution of a child, his religious identity was destroyed. God was dead in the soul of a child who faced the absolute evil of the holocaust in the camp. Although Elie said that he no longer believed in this God, he never doubted the existence of the latter. Elie was praying subconsciously, which indicated that the protagonist had not lost faith. Elie unconsciously turned to it when he doubted his ability to control himself.
In his statements, Moishe expressed two concepts that are crucial to the mentioned struggle of Elie. First, God is everywhere, even within each person. Second, faith is to be founded on questions but not answers. It is visible that Elie’s struggle was mostly the continuous flow of questions. He constantly wondered where God was and how the evil he faced could exist. Moishe’s words allow Elie to understand that these moments of hesitation did not mean the loss of faith. In contrast, they indicated Elie’s progressing spiritual commitment.
Moishe is a character that serves as a theoretical provider for Elie’s issues with faith. Moishe’s warnings were always appropriate and selfless. However, sometimes, even Elie doubted the pureness of his teacher’s intentions. But with the flow of the narration, Elie comes to all the statements expressed by Moishe the Beadle. This implies their continuous connection and Moishe’s ideas’ importance to Elie’s state of mind.
Elie’s relationship with God has experienced ups and downs, which ultimately changed his view of religion. Throughout Night, Elie’s faith has dwindled from deep to cynical, but these shifts finally answer key questions. Eliezer retains this faith even after a terrible experience. Again, Moishe makes a great contribution to this – a character who is an integrated element of Elie’s religious views. His significance is obvious not only for the protagonist but for the story as a whole.