Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe?...

From that day on I saw him often. He explained to me, with great emphasis, that every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer...

The real answers, Eliezer, you will find only within yourself" (Wiesel 4-5).

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This is the first deep conversation between Elie and Moishe the Beadle, the man who would have a brief but powerful relationship with Elie as his spiritual mentor. This moment is significant in the memoir because it establishes how deeply religious Elie is at the beginning of the story, before the Nazis arrive. At this time in his life, prayer is as important to him as breathing. In other words, it is essential.

Another reason this moment is significant is because Moishe teaches Elie a powerful lesson about the importance of self-reliance. He imparts that the key to survival, to life itself is not found in any book or temple, but inside the self. Through these experiences, Moishe represents a significant influence on Elie's personal and religious development.

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The first night at Auschwitz he sees children being killed and thrown into pits of fire. Elie describes that night as "one long night seven times sealed" and that he would never forget that night. This event is significant because we can see Elie slowly losing his faith in God. It is important because in the first chapter we can see that Elie is really religious and curious about learning more about it.

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Even though Elie doesn't believe in God anymore he still prays to god asking him to give him the strength to not do what Rabbi Eliahu's son did to his father. This event is significant because Elie starts worrying about if he would do the same thing to his father. He also acknowledges that he would be able to have it easier if he left his father behind. I think it's important because even though Elie didn't believe in God anymore he still formed a prayer.

scribe my life during that period. It no longer mattered. Since my father's death, nothing mattered to me anymore.

I was transferred to the children's block, where there were six hundred of us. The Front was coming closer. I spent my days in total idleness. With only one desire: to eat. I no longer thought of my father, or my mother. From time to time, I would dream. But only about soup, an extra ration of soup."

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At this time he thought that everyone in his family had died except him. Nothing mattered to him anymore since everyone he loved had died. From this quote we can see how everything that happened to him affected him. The only thing he would dream of would be soup and nothing more. From the first chapter we can see how much he changed. In the beginning chapter he was really into religion and knowing more about religion and prayers.