ELIE WIESEL RESEARCH PROJECT Elie Wiesel was born in the town of Sighet in northern Transylvania on September 30, 1928. His real name was Eliezer Wiesel. His family spoke Yiddish at home; they read newspapers and conducted their grocery business in German. Elie had begun religious studies in classical Hebrew almost as soon as he could speak. Elie’s life centered entirely on his religious studies. He loved the mystical tradition and folk tales of the Hassidic sect of Judaism, to which him and his family belonged. His father encouraged Elie to study the modern Hebrew language and to concentrate on his