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Local Chabad rabbis participated in a gathering of fellow shluchim last week in Washington, D.C., joining public officials to commemorate the 16th yahrtzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

The two-day Living Legacy Conference, organized by American Friends of Lubavitch, took place June 16-17 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium.

The conference brought together 500 emissaries from 40 nations and 40 states as well as a bipartisan slate of politicians from both houses of congress, including U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.). U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the House of Representatives majority leader, and U.S. Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), the House minority leader, were also present.

Vice President Joe Biden attended the conference, where he spoke about the meaning of Chabad through its acronym -- Chochmah, Binah, and Da'at, or wisdom, understanding, and knowledge -- and how such lessons are applicable in governing.

Rabbi Shmaya Galperin of Chabad Jewish Center of Holmdel said it was "amazing" to see all the public officials come to recognize the Rebbe's life work and the growth of Chabad around the world.

"It was truly remarkable to see the honor bestowed upon the Rebbe," he said. "The congressional medal he received even 16 years after his death."

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who died June 12, 1994 after leading the Chabad-Lubavitch movement for over 40 years, emphasized the importance of Jewish outreach, urging Jews from across the religious spectrum to make Judaism a greater part of their daily lives.

Today, there are 4,000 full-time emissary families in some 3,300 institutions across the world, according to Chabad's Web site.

Galperin, who works with about 300 Jewish residents of Monmouth County weekly, said it was inspiring to hear of Chabad's work globally.

"Even in impacting my small world of Holmdel and Colts Neck," Galperin told The Jewish State, "I'm really part of a much bigger picture."

Rabbi Levi Wolosow, the shaliach at Chabad-Lubavitch of Morganville, compared the gathering to a "Jewish United Nations."

"It was unbelievable," Wosolow told The Jewish State. "There was a special connection that united all the rabbis, all the ambassadors in a very warm atmosphere, with the hope of a better future."

Even though many of the guests present had never met the Rebbe, "people still felt they sort of knew him through the shluchim," Wosolow recalled.

Both Wolosow and Galperin pointed to a speech by Jewish congresswoman, Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.), who is sometimes called the "yiddishe-mama" on Capitol Hill. In her remarks, Berkley said she felt like she personally knew the Rebbe even though she had never met him.

"She never met the Rebbe and still she sees the good work that the rebbe did through the schluchim," Galperin said.

For Rabbi Levi Azimov, the most memorable part of the conference was the speech by Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Weisel, who spoke about how when he arrived in France immediately after the war, the first thing he looked for was the tractate of Talmud he had been learning before it was taken away from him by the Nazis.

"It was just really, really inspiring," Azimov told The Jewish State, noting Weisel's lifelong commitment to Jewish learning.

The conference was not just an opportunity to reflect on the Rebbe and the Chabad organization's accomplishments. It was also a time to network as officials from abroad paid a visit, including dignitaries from Morocco and Turkey.

Azimov, along with his brother, who is the Chabad rabbi in northern Cyprus, a region under Turkish control, were given a private meeting with officials from the territory, where they expressed their concerns about the recent flotilla incident.