Dr. Marc Siegel has recounted the life and ultimate sacrifice of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a religious leader from Sydney. The account details a miraculous recovery for journalist Nikki Goldstein following a shofar blessing and Schlanger's subsequent death during a 2025 terror attack at Bondi Beach.
The 24-hour turnaround for Nikki Goldstein
In September 2022, Sydney-based journalist Nikki Goldstein faced a life-threatening battle with chronic lung and autoimmune diseases. As reported by Dr. Marc Siegel,the 57-year-old was placed on a ventilator and entered a coma, with doctors placing her on an emergency lung transplant list due to extensive lung scarring.
Rabbi Eli Schlanger, the assistant rabbi at the Chabad synagogue in Bondi Beach, provided a moment of spiritual significance during Goldstein's 2022 medical crisis. After her husband, Rowan, requested prayers, the rabbi used his shofar to perform a blessing over the journalist while she was in a coma.
Medical observations following the shofar blessing indicated a rapid change in Goldstein's condition. The report states that within 24 hours, her chest X-rays showed that the lung infection was retreating, allowing her to be awakened from her coma. This recovery eventually led to the publication of Conversations With My Rabbi, a book co-authored by Goldstein and Schlanger.
The December 14, 2025, Bondi Beach tragedy
The narrative of Rabbi Schlanger takes a tragic turn during the Hanukkah celebrations at Archer Park on December 14, 2025. As more than 1,000 people gathered at Bondi Beach for a menorah lighting, two gunmen launched an antisemitic terror attack.
Rabbi Schlanger acted as a shield for others during the Bondi Beach shooting, walking toward the gunmen with his hands raised. while Schlanger was killed in the gunfire, his wife Chyale and their two-month-old baby survived the attack, though both sustained injuries from bullets and shrapnel.
The spiritual significance of the ram's horn
The shofar, a hollowed-out ram's horn, serves as a central spiritual symbol in Jewish tradition. dr. Marc Siegel, a professor of medicine and medical director at NYU Langone Medical Center, explains that the instrument is traditionally blown during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to serve as a "spiritual wake-up call" for repentance.
Dr. Siegel’s upcoming book, The Angels Among Us, scheduled for release on November 18, 2026, seeks to explore these intersections of faith and medicine. the text includes anecdotes such as a rabbi whose stroke was discovered only because he was blowing a shofar, illustrating the complex relationship between ritual and physical health.
The unidentified gunmen at Archer Park
Despite the detailed account of the Bondi Beach massacre, several critical details remain unverified. The report does not identify the two gunmen who opened fire at Archer Park, nor does it clarify their specific motivations for the antisemitic attack. Additionally, the source provides no information regarding the long-term medical status of Schlanger's infant son following the shrapnel injury .
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