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In the heart of Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood, a clandestine project unfolded beneath the historic Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters.

A group of young Hasidic Jewish men, driven by a desire to expand the century-old synagogue, embarked on an ambitious endeavour to construct a 50-foot-long tunnel. Their goal was to connect the synagogue to an adjacent abandoned men’s mikvah, a ritual bath, as part of a broader vision to enlarge the religious space, a vision that traces back to the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s call for expansion over three decades ago.

For nearly a year, the sounds of digging went unnoticed until neighbours reported strange noises from below.

The discovery of the tunnel led to a dramatic confrontation when Chabad leadership attempted to seal it with concrete, resulting in a riot and subsequent arrests on January 8. This incident not only exposed the physical tunnel but also revealed deep rifts within the community, as the synagogue’s leadership grappled with the ramifications of the unsanctioned excavation.