Sydney Gathers to Celebrate Launch of Rabbi Eli Schlanger’s Book
A large crowd gathered at Chabad of Bondi this morning in Sydney, Australia, to celebrate the launch of Conversations With My Rabbi: Timeless Teachings for a Fractured World, the new book co-authored by slain Chabad Rabbi Eli Schlanger and author Nikki Goldstein, at the synagogue where the rabbi had served for the last 18 years. That was before his life was cut short by a terrorist attack on Chanukah that killed him and 14 other people.
Published today by HarperCollins in Australia, Harper Influence in the United States and Harper Nonfiction in the United Kingdom, the book grew out of an extraordinary friendship forged in a hospital ICU.
In 2022, Goldstein lay critically ill, her condition deteriorating rapidly, when her family spotted Schlanger making his rounds and asked him to pray for her speedy recovery. The rabbi blew shofar at her bedside and recited psalms associated with healing. Within days, Goldstein’s condition improved in what the doctors could only describe as a miracle.
Beginning in January 2025, the two met regularly to record wide-ranging conversations about faith, morality, meaning and the Seven Noahide Laws—the universal code that, according to Jewish tradition, holds the blueprint for a just and compassionate society. The pair were working on completing the book’s final chapter when the rabbi was murdered alongside 14 others at the “Chanukah by the Sea” celebration he organized on Dec. 14, 2025.
Tuesday’s launch, chaired by Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, brought together family members, community leaders, rabbis and friends, as well as NSW Premier Chris Minns and Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane. Minns, who acknowledged that he never had the opportunity to meet Rabbi Schlanger personally, said the book had allowed him to understand him now after his tragic passing.
“One of the really wonderful things about this book,” he said, “is the way it manages to bring Eli’s voice back to life.”
The book’s final chapter was completed by Rabbi Yehoram Ulman—Schlanger’s father-in-law, mentor, and director of Chabad of Bondi—just two weeks after the attack.
Speaking at the launch, Ulman addressed Goldstein’s wish that her co-author could have been present. “I promise you,” he said, “that he is here today with us.”
Conversations With My Rabbi is available now from Harper Influence in the United States, HarperCollins Australia and Harper Nonfiction in the United Kingdom.
Nikki Goldstein, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman and NSW Premier Chris Minns at the launch of Conversations With My Rabbi on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
