Those who knew Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, gathered to farewell the beloved Jewish leader who was fatally wounded in the Bondi Beach terror attack on Dec. 14.
There was a sea of tears at the Bondi Chabad synagogue on Dec. 17, as heartbroken members of the Jewish community gathered from across Australia and the world in mourning.
An Australian flag sat folded ceremoniously on a table as candles flickered and Hebrew prayers echoed through the packed shul.
Congregants heard of Rabbi Schlanger’s life and work, including his role as a dedicated and loving father of five, a friend, mentor, a force.
The funeral was attended by several notable international representatives, including Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli and Chief Rabbi of Singapore Mordechai Abergel.
Rabbi Schlanger’s father-in-law, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, wept as he remembered the man who became his son.
“It is unthinkable that we talk about you in the past tense and it’s unthinkable for me to have something—a crowd in the shul—and not to come to him and say ‘what do you think about this and that?'” he said.
“You became everything to me, my head, my hands, my feet.
“You’re my son, my friend, confidant, and to think how I will go a day without you, it doesn’t seem possible.”
Rabbi Schlanger’s funeral was held in the synagogue where he dedicated much of his life, serving the community and finding new ways to help others.
“In the community, he was there for everybody, a person who lived to 41 years and achieved what a person doesn’t achieve in an age double to him,” Rabbi Ulman said.
“To all of us, I’m saying, don’t leave things for tomorrow—you have something to say to people close to you—say it today.”
The Rabbi shared a message of resilience in the wake of the horrific terror attack, which claimed at least 15 innocent victims.
“When [they] try to destroy us, their hope is that somehow we’ll become dormant, that we’ll go down, be afraid, say ‘oh it’s dangerous to live as Jews’… we can never ever allow them to succeed,” he said.
“Every time they try something, we become greater and stronger.”
A ceremony is set to be held on Dec. 17 for Rabbi Yaakov Levitan and another for businessman Reuven Morrisson, with the youngest victim, 10-year-old Matilda Bee Britvan, to be buried on Dec. 18.
Rabbi’s Corrective Services Role Honoured
Rabbi Schlanger was given funerary honours by the Correctional Services Honour Guard, a mark of respect for the years of dedication he provided through his prison chaplaincy role.
Rabbi Ulman also recounted the story of how on the weekly Jewish Shabbat holiday, one day before Rabbi Schlanger was killed, the family had been joined by a man whose recovery and release from prison had been helped by Rabbi Schlanger.
The grieving father-in-law said the Rabbi’s important community work would be continued as much as possible, with activities coming back “much, much stronger.”
The Epoch Times spoke to Melbourne Rabbi Menachem Aron on Dec. 16 regarding Rabbi Schlanger’s community work.
“He was a very outgoing guy, pretty well, very well known in the community, always looking to connect with other people, very responsive and just kind of out there, like you don’t just find him at a synagogue,” Rabbi Aron said.
“So a very vibrant guy, very young at heart, full of energy.”
In his role as prison chaplain, Rabbi Schlanger visited prisons across New South Wales.
“He had a great connection for a lot of non-Jewish people as well as Jewish people, so a lot of non-Jewish friends, people within the community and around that he would maintain a connection with,” Rabbi Aron said.
“He actually recently launched a whole project to engage people that aren’t necessarily Jewish to come to synagogue and kind of experience what Judaism is all about.
“That was pretty, pretty phenomenal stuff that he did.”
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