The Hasidic group has been facing internal strife since the Rebbe's death in 1994. No successor has ever been named.
The mainstream Lubavitcher leadership is committed to carrying out the Rebbe's teachings and vision. But a smaller faction within the movement claims that the rabbi is actually the Messiah, and some in that group believe he never died. Legal disputes over the role of 770 — including whether a plaque on a nearby building could indicate that the Rebbe is deceased — have continued for years.
An NYPD officer watches a video of the confrontation between police and Hasidic youth inside the synagogue.credit: now
Conversations with members of the Hasidic community and reports in the local Hasidic press indicated that a group of Messianic students may have been responsible for building the tunnel, which they believe is a way to pay respect to the Lubavitcher rebbe, about whom they speak in the present tense.
“They did it to expand 770 and make it bigger,” said a man who gave his name as Zalmi Grossman, who said he knew some of the detainees. “They came to fulfill the rebbe’s wishes.”
Omri Rahmim Bahar, 22, has been studying for 770 years since arriving in New York from Israel four years ago. He said his fellow community members were frustrated by leaders' failure to expand the building to address crowding during worship. So, some began taking matters into their own hands, he said, in part by creating a tunnel from a nearby building leading to the sanctuary wall.
After the cement truck arrived on Monday, some men decided to storm the sanctuary from inside the tunnel. A video clip showed at least one man emerging from the tunnel covered in dust amid cheers from his supporters.
Building inspectors at the Chabad-Lubavitcher movement's global headquarters in New York.credit: now
“Of course it is difficult, and it is not good to see the main wall of the sanctuary with a hole in it, but I know there is no other way,” Bahar said.
Videos taken from inside the building during the skirmishes showed disturbed scenes, with mostly Hasidic youth sitting in the tunnel, in an apparent attempt to prevent it from filling up.
Videos and photos also showed some Hasidic men lifting planks off walls, and groups of men using large chairs to physically prevent police from interfering and then clashing with officers, before one officer appeared to use some type of spray to disperse the crowd.
News of the chaos spread quickly on social media, eventually turning into a proliferation of anti-Semitic social media posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, in particular.
Dov Markovich, from Kiev, Ukraine, prays outside the closed synagogue.credit: now
When Shmuel Spielman entered the sanctuary for evening prayers he saw “a commotion,” he said, describing the sight of a handful of young men — some of whom he recognized — breaching the wall. “This is where the Lord was born,” Spielman said, using a Yiddish term for prayer. “I find it very annoying.”
Knowing that the altar would be closed in the morning, he gathered his prayer materials and arranged to meet at the home of another community member on Tuesday (New York time) for the morning service.
He came by 770 to find out if the building had reopened yet. This was not the case, so he prepared to head to a large white tent that accommodated those who wished to pray outside the building.
This article originally appeared on New York times.
Get a direct note from our foreign correspondents on what's making headlines around the world. Subscribe to the weekly What in the World newsletter here.
