Why did elie pray and why did he cry when he prayed?

Elie could not answer the reason for why he prayed, nor, why he cried.

He had watched me one day as I prayed at dusk.

"Why do you cry when you pray?" he asked, as though he

knew me well.

"I don't know," I answered, troubled.

I had never asked myself that question. I cried because

because something inside me felt the need to cry. That was all

I knew.

"Why do you pray?" he asked after a moment.

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

I breathe?

"I don't know," I told him, even more troubled and ill at ease.

"I don't know."