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Conversations with My Rabbi: Timeless Teachings for a Fractured World
288 pages, Hardcover
Published May 26, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 14, 2026
Rabbi Eli Schlanger was celebrating Hanukkah on Bondi Beach with a crowd of 2,000 people when terrorists attacked killing 15 people including Rabbi Schlanger. The rabbi was 41 years old and the father of five children. A friend’s young son was also injured and went through 16 surgeries before he recovered.
Unfortunately due to antisemitism, it has become dangerous to be in public places. May his memory be a blessing.
Unfortunately due to antisemitism, it has become dangerous to be in public places. May his memory be a blessing.
July 13, 2026
4/5 | A brave, heartbreaking and beautiful posthumous dedication.
Conversations with My Rabbi: Timeless Teachings for a Fractured World would already have been a book born from remarkable circumstances. Nikki Goldstein meets Rabbi Eli Schlanger on her deathbed and, against all odds, survives.
And yet, against all odds, in the horrifying terror attack at Bondi Beach, Rabbi Schlanger does not.
This book was written for a fractured world, before it completely shattered.
I knew Rabbi Eli Schlanger, so I am fortunate enough to read his words in his voice, complete with the energetic, kind charisma he brought to every conversation.
This book explores the Noahide Laws - laws I have also been fortunate enough to study - and Goldstein brings an interesting and broad curiosity to unpacking them, with Rabbi Eli serving as our guide and teacher. Rabbi Eli’s personal mission was to make these laws more widely known, and he worked with Goldstein, a non-observant yet deeply curious Jew, to document and explain them for the masses.
The tragedy is that the fractured world he hoped to bring a moral framework to, murdered him.
But despite the sadness, mourning and profound loss, Goldstein honours his memory by continuing the mission and completing the book. They were working on the final chapter when Rabbi Eli was savagely shot in cold blood on the sands of Bondi Beach in December 2025.
The Noahide Laws are, like much of Torah legislation, deceptively simple. That is, until you begin digging deeper and discover a complexity that is both broad and astounding. Goldstein does an excellent job bouncing off Rabbi Eli in their documented conversations as they explain what these laws really mean, what they cover, and how we can incorporate them into our lives.
My main reservation with the book is that Goldstein perhaps could have done more to distinguish between teachings that are specifically Jewish obligations and those relevant to non-Jews. For instance, prayers such as the Shema are not obligations for non-Jews. While it is nice to see them presented in English, transliteration and Hebrew, a simple symbol or notation indicating what Jews could learn from and what non-Jews could safely skip may have helped guide readers. It would also have reduced the risk of the book appearing didactic or proselytising, particularly given that Judaism is fundamentally non-proselytising. I worry some readers may misunderstand this and disengage from an otherwise valuable work.
For those who find themselves feeling that way, I encourage you to continue.
There were also moments that unfortunately read somewhat like generative AI copy. A considerable number of passages followed a similar negative-to-positive explanatory structure: “Life is not just sacred - it is Divine… Murder, therefore, is not only an act of violence against a human being. It is an act of violence against God Himself.”
Once I noticed the pattern, I found it somewhat repetitive.
That said, Rabbi Eli was not alive to refine or edit his own words, and the reality is that this book’s urgent release became even more important after his passing. Given those circumstances, it is understandable.
I raise these criticisms because the true strength of Goldstein’s writing shines in her most vulnerable moments. The short reflections she includes between chapters are where she pours out her heart, shares her honest thoughts about the conversations, and ultimately allows readers to witness her grief.
Her final chapters with the phenomenal Rabbi Ulman, Rabbi Eli’s father-in-law, together with the Epilogue and Afterword, ultimately brought the book home for me. Goldstein writes with raw emotion, and Rabbi Ulman’s inclusion serves as a powerful bookend, giving Rabbi Eli’s mission and life the justice, compassion and sense of purpose they deserve.
These final chapters were by far the most powerful and intimate parts of the book.
This book was not what I expected.
But it was also more.
It was an honour to have met Rabbi Eli. It is a privilege to witness what Goldstein has done to continue and spread his mission. This book certainly caused me to reflect on elements of my own behaviour and how I can bring more peace and kindness to my interactions with others.
In Rabbi Eli’s honour, I hope it does the same for many others.
Conversations with My Rabbi: Timeless Teachings for a Fractured World would already have been a book born from remarkable circumstances. Nikki Goldstein meets Rabbi Eli Schlanger on her deathbed and, against all odds, survives.
And yet, against all odds, in the horrifying terror attack at Bondi Beach, Rabbi Schlanger does not.
This book was written for a fractured world, before it completely shattered.
I knew Rabbi Eli Schlanger, so I am fortunate enough to read his words in his voice, complete with the energetic, kind charisma he brought to every conversation.
This book explores the Noahide Laws - laws I have also been fortunate enough to study - and Goldstein brings an interesting and broad curiosity to unpacking them, with Rabbi Eli serving as our guide and teacher. Rabbi Eli’s personal mission was to make these laws more widely known, and he worked with Goldstein, a non-observant yet deeply curious Jew, to document and explain them for the masses.
The tragedy is that the fractured world he hoped to bring a moral framework to, murdered him.
But despite the sadness, mourning and profound loss, Goldstein honours his memory by continuing the mission and completing the book. They were working on the final chapter when Rabbi Eli was savagely shot in cold blood on the sands of Bondi Beach in December 2025.
The Noahide Laws are, like much of Torah legislation, deceptively simple. That is, until you begin digging deeper and discover a complexity that is both broad and astounding. Goldstein does an excellent job bouncing off Rabbi Eli in their documented conversations as they explain what these laws really mean, what they cover, and how we can incorporate them into our lives.
My main reservation with the book is that Goldstein perhaps could have done more to distinguish between teachings that are specifically Jewish obligations and those relevant to non-Jews. For instance, prayers such as the Shema are not obligations for non-Jews. While it is nice to see them presented in English, transliteration and Hebrew, a simple symbol or notation indicating what Jews could learn from and what non-Jews could safely skip may have helped guide readers. It would also have reduced the risk of the book appearing didactic or proselytising, particularly given that Judaism is fundamentally non-proselytising. I worry some readers may misunderstand this and disengage from an otherwise valuable work.
For those who find themselves feeling that way, I encourage you to continue.
There were also moments that unfortunately read somewhat like generative AI copy. A considerable number of passages followed a similar negative-to-positive explanatory structure: “Life is not just sacred - it is Divine… Murder, therefore, is not only an act of violence against a human being. It is an act of violence against God Himself.”
Once I noticed the pattern, I found it somewhat repetitive.
That said, Rabbi Eli was not alive to refine or edit his own words, and the reality is that this book’s urgent release became even more important after his passing. Given those circumstances, it is understandable.
I raise these criticisms because the true strength of Goldstein’s writing shines in her most vulnerable moments. The short reflections she includes between chapters are where she pours out her heart, shares her honest thoughts about the conversations, and ultimately allows readers to witness her grief.
Her final chapters with the phenomenal Rabbi Ulman, Rabbi Eli’s father-in-law, together with the Epilogue and Afterword, ultimately brought the book home for me. Goldstein writes with raw emotion, and Rabbi Ulman’s inclusion serves as a powerful bookend, giving Rabbi Eli’s mission and life the justice, compassion and sense of purpose they deserve.
These final chapters were by far the most powerful and intimate parts of the book.
This book was not what I expected.
But it was also more.
It was an honour to have met Rabbi Eli. It is a privilege to witness what Goldstein has done to continue and spread his mission. This book certainly caused me to reflect on elements of my own behaviour and how I can bring more peace and kindness to my interactions with others.
In Rabbi Eli’s honour, I hope it does the same for many others.
August 12, 2026
For those who need healing and for those who don’t understand why healing is needed.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews