Yes, I've heard the conversation about Chabad. And no — to clarify — I haven't dug any tunnels. But in all seriousness, people sometimes ask: What's the secret to Chabad's success? Is it clever marketing? Political connections? Some mysterious strategy? Maybe space lasers?
The answer lies in this week's Torah portion Ki Sisa. To understand the secret, you have to go back thousands of years to the story of the second tablets. The first tablets were extraordinary. They were carved by G-d Himself and given to the Jewish people at the height of spiritual revelation. But then came the sin of the Golden Calf. Moshe shattered the tablets, and everything seemed lost. Yet something remarkable happened next. The Jewish people didn't walk away; they repented. They cried, they returned, and they wanted to reconnect with G-d. And so G-d gave them a second set of tablets, this time carved by Moshe himself.
At first glance, it seems strange. How could the second tablets possibly be greater than the first? The first were made by G-d! But the second tablets carried something deeper: the power of return. They represented a relationship rebuilt through effort, humility, and love. When people fall and then sincerely reconnect, that bond can become even stronger than before.
This is the quiet secret behind Chabad's work around the world. Chabad shluchim move across the globe not because Jews are perfect, but because every Jew is precious. The mission is not judgment; it is connection. Not pressure, but possibility. Every person, no matter their background, their questions, or their journey, is a soul created in G-d's image, capable of reconnecting to the light of Torah and mitzvot. When people feel that love and acceptance, something powerful happens: they rediscover their own spark.
That is the lesson of the second tablets, and it is the mission of our generation. Each of us can illuminate the world a little more, through a mitzvah, through Torah learning, through an act of goodness or kindness. When we help another person reconnect to their soul and to their Creator, we are continuing the story that began with those second tablets. So let's embrace that holy work together, spreading light, strengthening Jewish life, and bringing our world one step closer to the peace and harmony we all long to see.