Two months after the Bondi Beach Chanukah massacre claimed the life of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, HY”D, his eldest daughter Priva and a cohort of teens from his community are heading to New York this week for the CTeen International Shabbaton. It’s a trip Rabbi Schlanger had been planning since he launched CTeen Bondi just months before the attack.
“Eli started CTeen Bondi five, six months ago,” said Rabbi Avremi Joseph, Schlanger’s brother-in-law and a Chabad shliach in Sydney. “It’s been in the works for a long time. Doing this trip was a dream for Eli.”
In the months before his murder, Rabbi Schlanger had dedicated himself to building a CTeen chapter, organizing programs that drew hundreds of teens. Now Priva Schlanger, only 17, is stepping into her father’s role, leading the first Bondi CTeen delegation to Crown Heights.
“She’s taken on the task of continuing her father’s legacy, and we’re going to support her every step of the way,” Joseph said. “The goal is to take what Eli built to the next level, and make sure Priva shines in her shlichus.”
Priva and the three teens will join 4,578 participants from 486 cities at the Shabbaton. The delegation will be recognized at Thursday evening’s solidarity event, where elected officials and dignitaries will welcome them alongside teens from around the world.
Joseph, who was at the Chanukah event when the shooting began, said the trauma for the community’s teens runs deep. “It was very, very difficult,” he said. “People screaming, running, getting shot before our eyes, for these kids, that doesn’t just go away.”
But the teens traveling to New York are channeling that pain into purpose. In the days before departure, one of the teens said, “I don’t usually travel with my tefillin, but this time I will.” Another said, “For me, dealing with the tragedy means making sure that I continue Eli’s legacy.”
“There’s a big connection here,” Joseph said. “The kids had a bond not only to Rabbi Eli but to his ability to connect to their souls, to see through people in a deep way. They hold onto that.”
Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Executive Director of Merkos 302 and Chairman of CTeen International, traveled to Bondi in the weeks following the attack and returned again this week for the regional Kinus. He saw firsthand how the community and its teens have responded.
“These teens lived through something no teenager should ever have to experience,” Kotlarsky said. “And their response has been to show up, be more Jewish, and be more proud. It’s unbelievable.”
Priva, who addressed thousands at the recent Kinus Hashluchos gala in New Jersey, spoke about the impact of growing up in a home of shlichus. “When you involve your children in your community work, it leaves such an impact on your kids and the community,” she told the crowd. “It’s so inspiring for us kids because we feel it’s ours.”
Rabbi Schlanger once offered a simple formula for how Jews should respond to antisemitism: “Be more Jewish, act more Jewish, and appear more Jewish.” This week, his daughter and his teens are doing exactly that.
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