Have a Little Faith Essay

Throughout Mitch Albom’s Have a Little Faith, Albom writes about what it means to be religious, how religion affects our lives, and how religion can take us on a path toward redemption. Indeed, as Albom intertwines his own journey with those of Henry and the Reb, one can see how the three characters grow spiritually as they simultaneously progress through the book, headed toward capturing a sense of closure. Although all three characters attain a fairly equal degree of fulfillment, they each reach this level of inner-peace their own unique way. Not to mention, Album, Henry, and the Reb all had different goals, whose only similarity was the involvement that religion played in reaching them. The Reb’s goal was to bring people together as a community and bring them closer to their faith. Album’s goal was to honor the Reb’s last request and ultimately come closer to his faith. Last but certainly not least, Henry’s goal was to redeem himself as best as he could by selflessly helping others and preaching the word of the
Lord. By reaching these goals, each character established closure to their individual story.
As it was previously mentioned, the Reb achieved closure by drawing the community together with religion. In his particular case, that religion was Judaism. He was known by his congregants for his impeccable sermons, especially during the time of the High Holiday service.
Albom would attend this service every year with his family, to give himself a break from the stress of being a sports writer. However, Albom was more than just a Jew or a sports writer to
Albert Lewis.
After, the Reb, Albert Lewis, asked Albom if he would do his eulogy, Albom said, “I thought I was being asked a favor, when in fact I was being given one” (Albom 2). Albom was in fact being given a favor; although, at the same time he was helping the Reb find peace by providing him with one last opportunity to save another member of his parish. Indeed, the Reb recognized the