Volunteers from Jewish emergency services, Hatzolah, were among the first on-scene during the Bondi terror attack.
Rabbi Yanky Super was among them as a medic on duty at the Hanukkah event on Sunday when he came under fire.
The rabbi is now in hospital, having narrowly avoided death after a well-placed walkie-talkie-style radio prevented a bullet from delivering a fatal shot.
READ MORE: Husband and wife identified as first victims of Bondi terror attack
He was shot in the chest and back, which left his body peppered with bullet fragments.
Super is now in ICU at Royal North Shore Hospital as he recovers from his injuries.
But he cannot believe he is alive and neither can the man who rushed to his aid.
"God saved his life through his speaker mic," Rabbi Mendy Litzman told 9News.
"He actually got shot [and] that would be for sure a kill shot."
Litzman, who is also a Hatzolah emergency first responder, was helping Super when he saw his friend, rabbi Eli Schlanger, shot on the ground.
Litzman tried to save Schlanger, but he died.
"One of the hardest parts of the whole event was seeing my friend like that and having to leave and move on to the next person," Litzman said.
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Schlanger is one of the 15 people killed when the Akram father and son pair opened fire on the Jewish community, who were celebrating the first day of Hanukkah at the beach.
Litzman, 44, described the scenes as a "warzone" as he and other volunteers turned a section of the popular tourist destination into a makeshift emergency ward.
As that emergency unfolded on land, just 100 metres away, another crisis played out in the water.
Bondi lifeguard Rory Davey was sheltering on the sand behind a beach buggy with around 30 people when he noticed two men struggling in the water.
"I just see two men going under the water and can't get back in, so I just had to grab my board and go out while shots were still going on," Davey told 9News.
Lifeguard Daniel McLaughlin praised the work of his team as well as strangers for coming together during the dark and chaotic time.
"There was no victim or patient on the floor who didn't have people trying their absolute best [to help them]," he told 9News.
If you have been impacted by the terror attack in Bondi there is support available.
To contact Lifeline Australia, call 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14. For people under 25 years old, you can contact Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800. Both of these are available on a 24/7 basis.
If you wish to donate blood, you can find your nearest donor centre here.