Rabbi Eli Schlanger's Answer to Hatred Was 100 Mezuzahs. Then Chanukah Came to Bondi Beach

In 2019, a congregant sent Rabbi Eli Schlanger a photo of their mezuzah, asking whether it had been put back up correctly after it fell. When he looked at the image, he noticed something else: a Nazi symbol etched into the wall beside the doorpost.

His response was not to remove the mezuzah. It was to put up 100 more.

The original story was shared by Humans of Judaism on Instagram, and it has taken on new weight since Rabbi Schlanger was killed in the terror attack at Chabad's Chanukah event on Bondi Beach, Sydney, on the first night of Chanukah this past December.

How One Defaced Doorpost Led to 100 Mezuzahs Across Sydney

When Rabbi Schlanger saw the image, he thought of his grandparents, who had lost their entire family in Nazi Germany. He thought of the more than 100 descendants who now live openly as Jews, honoring that memory.

"My response," he wrote, "is to put up 100 mezuzahs by Chanukah."

He met his goal. "100 MEZUZOS DONE!" he messaged weeks later. The campaign took 40 days — a period he described as divine providence. Word spread. Requests came in from people who had seen the post and wanted a mezuzah of their own.

Rabbi Schlanger served as assistant rabbi and Chabad emissary at Chabad of Bondi in Sydney's eastern suburbs. He was known for pastoral work in prisons and hospitals, for reaching Jews in difficult circumstances, and for the kind of quiet, persistent outreach that rarely makes headlines. The 100-mezuzah campaign was characteristic of how he operated: turn hatred into action, answer darkness with something visible and lasting.

This past December, on the first night of Chanukah, Rabbi Schlanger was among the victims killed at the annual Chanukah celebration on Bondi Beach. He had helped organize the event — meant, in his own tradition, to fill a public space with Jewish light.

What the Mezuzah Declares

A mezuzah contains the words of the Shema — the declaration of Hashem's unity that anchors Jewish identity across every generation. Placed on the doorpost, it is one of the most visible expressions of Jewish life. It does not hide. It faces outward.

That visibility was exactly what Rabbi Schlanger was responding to in 2019. A hateful engraving beside a doorpost was meant to intimidate. His answer was to multiply the mezuzahs — to make Jewish presence more visible, not less.

A Kosher Scroll Is the Foundation of That Declaration

Every mezuzah Rabbi Schlanger affixed carried within it a scroll — and that scroll must be written by a certified sofer on proper klaf and checked carefully to be valid. The mitzvah lives in the parchment. Kosher Mezuzah offers scrolls written by certified soferim, double-checked by expert magihim, and backed by OU endorsement — so that every mezuzah that goes up fulfills the mitzvah it's meant to carry.

His Answer Still Stands

Rabbi Eli Schlanger was killed while doing what defined his life: bringing Jews together in public, in joy, without apology. The 100 mezuzahs he hung in 40 days are still on those doorposts. The families who requested them because of his campaign are still living Jewish lives openly.

That is his answer. It has not changed.

If Rabbi Schlanger's story moves you to put up a mezuzah — or to ensure the one you have is properly kosher — Kosher Mezuzah is here to help. Find your kosher mezuzah scroll here, and add one more to the count.

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