What stood out to me the most in this chapter was how the Nazi's/Hitler basically became the Jews' God/gods. After Rosh Hashanah it's ironic how the SS put the Jews through selection because the purpose of the holiday was divine judgement and the SS was doing the same in a way. However even in the absence of their God, as Eli frequently conveys in the chapter, they don't reject Him completely. Despite that the Jews see Hitler as more of a God than their own ("I have more faith in Hitler than anyone else. He alone has kept his promises, all his promises, to the Jewish people." - An inmate), I believe that the Jews as well as Eli still have some faith in God and in humanity. Otherwise I feel that they would just be indifferent.
That's really interesting. I never really thought of the soldiers as being their god since they chose who got to live and who died. They literally went through their judgement. But I don't think the Jewish people saw it that way, which was probably a good thing. I do believe that hanging on to even the smallest piece of their faith will be what really gets them through the tragedies.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed this. The Jews started beleiving that their lives were no longer in God's hands but in the Nazi officers. Survival was no longer based on whether or not they could pray it was more a matter of extra rations and cunning.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mikaela that your juxtaposition of God's Final Judgement and the judgement to determine if they were worthy to live analogously puts Hitler as their God, reaffirmed by the inmate's statement. I still question whether Eli truly rejected Him, and on one level I do think he does, but your point that they would be indifferent if they have given up complete faith makes me question my perspective.
ReplyDeleteI never made this connection, because when I first read it, but the point you make is extremely significant. I think that the Jews replace their God with Hitler, because to them, Hitler's hold on their date appears to be stronger and more tangible that God's.
ReplyDeleteI as well never made the connection of how the Germans were making their selection as God would make his. I always thought of the selection process as kids on a playing ground choosing the best of the best. Obviously the scenario is much more extreme but I just figured the Germans only wanted the "best" Jews to work for them.
ReplyDeleteI agree that despite their declining piety, the Jews still retain some of their traditional beliefs. It's as if it's somehow imbedded in their minds rather than their hearts. What I mean by that is that, even though they aren't necessarily willing to bow down and pray or observe any large religious demonstrations, and even though they may reject the ideas in their hearts, they're so used to them that no matter how hard they try, in times of turmoil they revert back to them almost subconsciously. It's like athletes and muscle memory. After using a muscle so much, their bodies become so accustomed that they can even perform their sports during fatigue.
ReplyDeleteI found your connection really interesting because I now also see how their religion has been so ingrained into them that they can never be indifferent about God's passivity. They can be angry all they want and shake their fists at the sky to a God that doesn't seem to hear them praying, but they're still praying. Also I think it's interesting and relates to the story in a way how when something bad happens, most peoples' initial instinct is to pray to God for help or strength. So I feel that we all have a part of us that will forever believe in a higher power, or at least wants to.
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