Living Legacy DC Conference Launches Tribute To Rebbe's 120th Birthday

It was a sight to behold.

Hundreds of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries and supporters from over 40 states and dozens of countries converged upon the nation’s capital to mark the 120th anniversary of the Rebbe’s birth.

Joining them were more than twenty leaders and members of the House and Senate, an equal number of foreign ambassadors and senior diplomats, academics from the US and overseas, and officials of the White House, State Department and international institutions, including the President of the World Bank, even a Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, who flew over 30 hours to partake in the program.

The attendees marveled at the prestigious locations where events were held, such as the Senate Kennedy Caucus Room, the Library of Congress, and the St. Regis Hotel which is just across from the White House.

The day concluded with a gala reception and banquet in the Presidential Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis Hotel.

Among the prominent speakers and guests were Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) of the Senate Republican Leadership, and Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Amy Klobuchar (DFL-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Rick Scott (R-FL), and House members Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Lee Zeldin (R-NY), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Michelle Steel (R- CA), Dusty Johnson (R-SD) Chuck Fleischmann (D-TN), John Yarmuth (D-KY) and others.

After being introduced by International Collections Director Eugene Flanigan and Professor Greenberg of American University, the Living Legacy Tribute Lecture was offered by Rabbi Dr. Naftali Loewenthal of University College, London, and Hon. Marcus Solomon, Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

The international diplomatic luncheon, attended by numerous ambassadors and diplomats, featured Hon. David Malpass, President of the World Bank, Mrs. Chanie Neuberger, Deputy National Security Advisor for Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats, and Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, Chair of the US Holocaust Memorial Council and who served in many senior positions at the White House, Departments of Commerce, State and Treasury, as well as Ambassador of the US to the European Union. The invocation was offered by Kiev’s Chief Rabbi and Shliach, Rav Yonatan Markovitch.

After caucuses and sessions for the attendees covering Education and Sharing Day and The Rebbe on Social Responsibility, and other topics, everyone headed to the Presidential Ballroom at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, for the gala reception and banquet, where prominent community figures mingled with newsmakers, military officers, and friends, all who came to participate in this wonderful and memorable event.

The program, chaired by Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Executive Vice President of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) included remarks and addresses by Rabbi Yehuda Tiechtal of Berlin, who gave a riveting account of the efforts there for the refugees from Ukraine. Keynote addresses were offered by human rights champion Mr. Natan Sharansky, who spoke of Chabad and Shluchim as the Internet of Jews before there was an internet, and legendary Senator Joseph Lieberman, who mentioned how through the efforts of Chabad-Lubavitch around the world, the Rebbe, like Moshe Rabbeinu, will not weaken after his passing and his spirit will live on well beyond 120. Jewish music superstar Avraham Fried then capped the evening with a remarkable performance of the Rebbe’s niggunim, whereupon the hall erupted into spirited dancing.

The banquet was opened by Mrs. Nechama Shemtov, Director of Women’s Issues and Education for American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), the invocation was offered by shliach to Tokyo, Japan, Rabbi Mendel Sudakevitch, as well as remarks from Rabbi Menachem Shemtov, Shliach to Georgetown in Washington, DC, as well as youth leader and student Zach Singerman and Isabella Levy of Princeton.

The Mayberg Fellows, a student component of the program, was organized by Rabbi Shua and Esti Hecht, in cooperation with Chabad on Campus International Foundation, with support from Rabbi Menachem and Racheli Shemtov of Georgetown, Rabbi Yitzi and Shana Ceitlin of Chabad East DC, and Rabbi Eli Shemtov.

A fitting kickoff for Shnas Meah Ve’esrim!