Elie Wiesel’s decision to abstain from fasting on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is a significant event portrayed in his memoir Night. This pivotal moment reflects a profound crisis of faith experienced by many prisoners in the concentration camps during the Holocaust.
Refusal to observe this central religious practice stemmed from a confluence of factors. The extreme conditions within the campsstarvation, relentless labor, and constant threat of deathrendered traditional religious observances almost impossible. Moreover, the immense suffering and apparent abandonment by God led to widespread questioning and rejection of religious beliefs. The act of fasting, traditionally a demonstration of piety and repentance, felt absurd and even blasphemous in the face of such profound injustice.
