"And then, one day all foreign Jews were expelled from Sighet," writes Wiesel, quite bluntly. "And Moishe the Beadle was a foreigner." Why do you suppose the shocking information is delivered so matter-of-factly? What is the point of Wiesel's abruptness? Also consider the manner in which Moishe is treated by the Jew of Sighet after he escaped the gestapo capture. Are the people happy to see him? Is he himself happy to be alive? Explain why Moishe has returned to the village. Why don't the Jewish towns people believe the horrible news he brings back to them?

When Moishe escapes, he is able to bring back the news of what is happening in the camps. He has experienced the horrors of the Holocaust and wants people to be aware of what these mean. However, the Jewish people in the towns seem reluctant to believe him. Moishe's words are too intense and unimaginable for them to be reality.

Wiesel reports this information in a very matter-of-fact way because he has gotten used to the idea of it, and to the implications that come from this information. Moreover, he wants to emphasize the fact that this was the reality during this time period.

not concrete, existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence