Night Section 5 Summary- Adrian Aguilar-4

Section 5 begins on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the last day of the Jewish year. The word last seems to spark interest in the other prisoners because it makes them wonder, what if it really was the last day of them being trapped, or maybe it would be the last day of their life. As the other prisoners pray, Elie decides to criticize God and all the bad that he has allowed to happen. "Why would I bless him? Because he caused thousands of children to burn in his mass graves?"(67) Elie has completely rebelled against God and has lost his faith because he cannot believe all the atrocities happening. This is completely ironic because in the beginning of the book Elie was a very religious teen who was eager to learn about Kabbalah. This just comes to show that his faith has died. Elie's rebellion is later demonstrated on the day of Yom Kippur. On this day, Jews usually fast, but Elie decides to eat anyway because his father told him to and because he thought it would be silly to fast when he has lost all hope in God. "And I nibbled on my crust of bread. Deep inside me, I felt a great void opening." (69)

A sign that hints at how you need to fast during Yom Kippur.

After the new year, there was another selection. Elie passed the test, but his father unknowingly did not. He was told to stay at the camp while the other healthy inmates worked. Before this, Elie's father gives him a knife and a spoon to keep and not to sell. Elie takes them and then reluctantly goes to work knowing he might never see his dad again. However, when he returned he found his father still alive because it had appeared that another selection had taken place and he passed that one. Unfortunately, Akiba the Drummer, did not pass. 

A selection that took place in Auschwitz. The healthy men survived, but women, children, and weak men were sent to
be burned.

As winter begins, the workers have to work in the snow. One day while working, Elie's foot swells up and he is sent to the infirmary where the doctor tells him surgery will have to take place if he wants to walk again. The idea of surgery frightens Elie, but he didn't want to risk death for being weak. As Elie spends time in the infirmary, rumors about the Russian army coming spread around the camp. After a successful surgery Elie is released from the infirmary and is unsure whether to stay with the sick or evacuate with the rest of the camp. He decides to go with his father and the others by evacuating. Little did Elie know at the time that those who stayed in the infirmary were liberated by the Russians a couple of days after.

An example of some inmates in an infirmary. 

A song dedicated to those who died during the Holocaust