Deep Dive: Conversations with My Rabbi
A weekly exploration of the book that's moved readers across the world, taught by Rabbi Didy Waks. Open to anyone who has ever wanted to live a richer, more meaningful, more deeply examined life.
You're in! We'll see you September 1st.
Why this book, why now.
In September 2022, Nikki Goldstein was comatose in a Sydney hospital when her family called on Rabbi Eli Schlanger to pray by her bedside. She recovered. What followed was an unlikely friendship between a secular Jewish woman and a devout Chabad rabbi, two people from entirely different worlds who discovered they were asking the same questions.
Together they built the book chapter by chapter around the seven Noahide laws: universal, timeless principles for living an ethical life, open to anyone regardless of background. Each chapter is a real conversation between them, searching and unresolved in the best way.
At the end of 2025, on the first night of Chanukah and just weeks before the book was finished, Rabbi Schlanger was murdered in a mass shooting on Sydney's Bondi Beach by someone who never knew him. Nikki finished the book anyway, with the final chapter completed alongside his father-in-law and mentor. It was published this year to wide acclaim.
We're aiming to complete this course by Rabbi Schlanger's first yahrzeit: a fitting time to finish a book about what it means to truly see another person.
Buy the bookThe details.
- Course chair
- Bonnie Fenner. Questions before you sign up? Reach Bonnie at the bottom of this page.
- When
- Tuesdays at 2:30pm, September 1 through December 15, 2026 (13 sessions)
No class on the holidays: September 29 (Sukkot), November 24 (Thanksgiving week), and December 8 (Chanukah). - Where
- First class (September 1): Jewish Community Center, 2310 Oneida Street, Utica, NY 13501
All other classes: Sands Chabad House, 108 College Street, Clinton, NY 13323 - Cost
- Free. Donations welcome.
- Who it's for
- Anyone who has ever wanted to live a richer, more meaningful, more deeply examined life. No background required.
- Instructor
- Rabbi Didy Waks
- Format
- Each session digs into the book's themes together: discussion, video clips, and your questions, answered or at least argued about.
- Food
- Light refreshments served.
Sign up for the class.
You're in! We'll see you September 1st.
Bonnie Fenner, Class Chair
Bonnie helps run this class and is happy to answer questions before you sign up.
Sent! Bonnie will get back to you soon.
