The Seven Noahide Laws form the universal code more people need to know about.
Dating back to the aftermath of the Great Flood, these seven commandments were given to all of the children of Noah, in other words, all of humanity. Some generations later, during the revelation at Sinai, this same code was handed down to Moses in order to be shared with all of humankind. Anchored in the personal acknowledgement of one G‑d to Whom we are each individually accountable, these universal rules include much of what is found in the Ten Commandments, such as the prohibitions against murder and theft, and the requirement to establish courts of justice. Together, these principles comprise a universal code upon which the pillars of any civilized society stand. Indeed, the Jewish people were commanded to share them with the world.
For millennia, however, this code was not well known at all. This was due mostly to the religious persecution Jews faced, making much of human history a sub-optimal time to share Judaism’s universal teachings. It was the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, who all but plucked them from obscurity and initiated a bold campaign to bring global awareness to their existence and foundational importance.
Small wonder then that when Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi from Sydney, Australia met Nikki Goldstein, a secular Jewish journalist and author, he set out to explore with her the meaning and practical application of Judaism’s teachings for the world.
Over the course of several months, they explored each law together in depth, discussing the values, responsibilities, and practical lessons contained within them. Their conversations became the foundation of a joint book project that sought to present the Noahide Laws as a guide to building a moral and compassionate society.
“As modern humans, overwhelmed by division, noise, and moral relativism, the Noahide Laws offer something rare: clarity … ,” Goldstein writes in the introduction to Conversations With My Rabbi: Timeless Teachings for a Fractured World, which is out today by Harper Influence in the United States, HarperCollins Australia, and Harper Nonfiction in the United Kingdom. “You don’t need to be Jewish to find meaning in them. In fact, these laws are specifically not Jewish in the ethnic or ritual sense. They are spiritual scaffolding for all of us—a way to bring more truth, compassion and integrity into our lives, homes, and communities.”
But as the project neared completion, horror struck. In December 2025, a father-and-son terror squad opened fire on a Chanukah menorah lighting ceremony at Bondi Beach in Sydney. Schlanger was the organizer of the event, called “Chanukah at the Sea.” Over the course of six minutes, the terrorists shot at the thousands of men, women, and children participating in the festivities below, murdering 15 people, including a Holocaust survivor and a 10-year-old girl. Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41 and a father of five, was among those killed.
The Meaning of the Universal Values
Devastated but determined to carry the project forward, Goldstein continued the work together with the rabbi’s family. The book opens with Goldstein reflecting on the project’s original vision, the unlikely path that brought a Chabad rabbi and a secular journalist together on a shared literary journey, and the devastating turn it took following the terror attack.
Goldstein describes how Schlanger first “met” her while she was lying comatose in a hospital bed after a medical emergency, when her family invited him in to pray for her. That encounter ultimately evolved into a friendship, and later, a shared mission.
“We wanted to offer something radically hopeful: a window into Jewish thought that is compassionate, relevant, and powerful. A body of work that would resonate across time and cultures. A way of seeing the world that has sustained a people through exile, trauma, miracles, and rebirth,” Goldstein writes.
The body of the book is divided into seven chapters, each dedicated to one of the seven laws. Structured as an ongoing conversation between Goldstein and Schlanger, the work is drawn directly from their real-life discussions and retains the candid, searching tone of two people exploring profound ideas together.
The two came from different worlds, and their conversations reflect that throughout the book. The perspective of a rabbi on G‑d, morality, and purpose is naturally different from that of a secular journalist and cultural commentator. Yet that contrast becomes one of the book’s greatest strengths. The reader is drawn into an authentic dialogue, almost as if seated alongside them, listening as each challenges, questions, and expands the other’s perspective.
Drawing from across Torah literature, each of the seven universal principles is understood as far more than its terse biblical wording alone might imply. The command “Do not worship idols” sparks a broader discussion between the two about defining G‑d, the miracle of existence, belief and skepticism, and the modern forms of idolatry found in celebrity culture, ego, and materialism.
Similarly, the prohibition against eating the flesh of a living animal opens into a deeper exploration of self-restraint, the meaning behind food consumption, and human compassion.
Like any genuine and free-flowing conversation, their discussions frequently branch into related themes and ideas, including the responsibility of charity, the ethics of gratitude, what it means to be “created in the image of G‑d,” and the perpetual search for meaning in modern life. Along the way they explore some Jewish ones as well, like Shabbat, Kabbalah and kosher slaughter.
The book is also deeply personal. Both Goldstein and Rabbi Schlanger weave their own stories and experiences into the conversations. One chapter begins with a simple question about where Rabbi Schlanger was driving when the original discussion took place. He explains that he was on his way to a prison, where he served as a chaplain for a lone Jewish inmate, a detail that then shapes and illuminates the conversation that follows.
Interspersed throughout the text are Goldstein’s own reflections on her journey with Rabbi Eli. These often return to the two defining events that framed the project: her recovery from a life-threatening medical crisis, and Rabbi Schlanger’s murder in the terror attack.
Each chapter concludes with practical takeaways and points for reflection, offering readers ways to apply the book’s ideas and values within their own daily lives.
An Enduring Legacy
The seventh and final chapter is perhaps the book’s most poignant.
The conversation that opens the chapter took place on December 10, 2025, just four days before Schlanger was murdered at Bondi. After dedicating months to articulating the values of a moral and just society, his life was cut short by people who embodied the very opposite of those ideals.
The chapter, centered on G‑d’s command to establish systems of justice, was left unfinished. Yet Goldstein felt that its message, the necessity of justice and ethical responsibility, had become more urgent than ever in the wake of the attack.
To complete the chapter, she turned to Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, Schlanger’s father-in-law, close confidant, and director of Chabad of Bondi, where Schlanger had served as assistant rabbi. Together, they resumed the conversation that had been so abruptly interrupted, and now viewed through the acutely painful lens of tragedy and loss.
The book closes with an epilogue in which Goldstein reflects once more on the terror attack, its aftermath, and the sense of responsibility she feels to continue the work they began together.
“Eli saved me. Now I’m saving his legacy,” she writes.
Yet despite the shadow cast over the book by Schlanger’s murder, the work itself remains strikingly hopeful.
Throughout its pages, Goldstein and Schlanger present a deeply optimistic vision: a blueprint for a society grounded in morality, responsibility, compassion, and an awareness of G‑d. The book presents a compelling argument that the Seven Noahide Laws offer a universal framework capable of elevating both individuals and society as a whole.
“This book was never meant to be just for Jews,” Goldstein writes. “It’s for anyone seeking to live ethically, compassionately, spiritually—with integrity and truth.”
Conversations With My Rabbi was launched in Sydney today, where Goldstein and Ulman addressed the large crowd that came to Chabad of Bondi to celebrate the enduring and tangible legacy of her slain mentor and his assistant rabbi. Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns and NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane were also in attendance.
At a time when the Jewish people and Jewish values are so often in the headlines, the book offers readers a good look at Judaism’s broader message for every human being. And in a world increasingly marked by confusion, polarization, and hopelessness, the conversations between Goldstein and Rabbi Schlanger offer something rare: a moral vision rooted in purpose and hope for a better world.
The book will also serve as a powerful tool in continuing the mission to which Rabbi Schlanger dedicated his life: helping shape a world in which every human being is recognized as created in the image of G‑d, and inspired to live accordingly.
Conversations With My Rabbi is available now from Harper Influence in the United States, HarperCollins Australia, and Harper Nonfiction in the United Kingdom.
Join the Discussion