Because the father helped Maria to pay for her mothers medical expenses. Even though Maria's mother passed away, he still supported her during her mourning. He also paid for Maria's mother's funeral expenses and offering Maria work.
Wiesel is a Jew during the holocaust who is sent with his father to multiple concentration camps. He faces a lot of challenges to the point where he questions his life everyday. Throughout Night, there is a great deal of dehumanization taking place in the form of starvation, brutality, and forced labor.
The author's purpose in the three paragraphs your question refers to are to foreshadow coming events, describe the uncertainty of the times, and provide parallels to the events of the story. In the first of the three paragraphs, the author gives readers insights into the lives of the narrator and his brother.
