This wonderful weekend culminated in a beautiful banquet at the Manhattan Hilton.
"Out of many, one."
Sitting in a room with 2000 of my colleagues, I realized what a deep, innate need we human beings have to feel a sense of belonging in this vast universe.
The yearning to be part of something larger- something that goes beyond ourselves.
Not just to a species, not only to a religion, but to a personalized group within a religion.
Identifying as a Jew is powerful. Identifying as a Chabadnik enriches my identity as a Jew, and gives an added layer of comfort and belonging- and as Jews, we are all part of it! (or as part of it as we want to be!).
Surrounded by my Jewish sisters, it was clear that it is our deeply-rooted spiritual identity, our global community, that allows us to flourish in all corners of the earth and embrace all of mankind- those who are similar, and those who are different, those who come close, and those who are at a distance.
What is true Jewish unity, and world unity?
It is not simply our common humanity, but our common capabilities to make this world into a spiritual garden.
A place of beauty and peace in the ways that G-d expects.
Four languages, ten women, one table
At my dinner table alone, there were quite a few rebbetzins who spoke French, Italian, Russian, and Hebrew; some of them knew English as well, a little bit, or not at all.
They had Chabad Houses in France, Italy, Russia, Israel, and various places in the U.S.
All of us have hugely different lifestyles, immersed in vastly different cultures and challenges and languages. 
We are all hugely different, and yet we are all exactly the same: ultimately, we are all souls, involved in the sacred task of igniting the torch of Judaism to warm as many other souls as possible.
The powerful connection we felt to one another that intense evening as we laughed and cried and celebrated together transcended our differences.
Rights vs. Responsibilities
Looking around the room teeming with women, I thought about all of the hundreds of women's conferences/feminist conventions that take place each year.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe empowered women to use their abilities to transform the world.
Perhaps one could say that at this annual conference, we celebrate the spiritual side of feminism.
While contemporary feminist conferences celebrate (achieving) rights, this Chabad conference celebrates responsibilities. It celebrates our obligations to nurture, to give, our power to touch hundreds of lives, making this world a more spiritual place.
At the end of this intensely beautiful night, the point of departure was not what the world needs to give us, but rather, what we need-and can-give to the world. In the words of the Twelve Step Programs, "...life run on self-will can hardly be a success."
Roll Call: Truth Endures
The Hebrew word for truth is emet, which begins with the first letter of the alphabet (aleph) and ends with the last (taf). Truth is something that remains true from beginning to end, for all of eternity, despite challenges and difficulties: The Chabad Houses across the globe.
As a woman announced each country, asking those who live there to rise, at times, only a handful stood up, and even a single rebbetzin, like the ones in Cyprus, Singapore, and Vietnam.
These posts often necessitate the rebbetzins to wait for kosher food shipments, learn a brand new language, learn a brand new culture, and go months without seeing friends and family for the sake of our spiritual family, the Jewish people.
In a society that is infatuated with fame, these women embody what Judaism cherishes: the often unseen acts in life of the individual that ultimately shape our world.
The further from civilization the women lived, the more beautiful they seemed! There is radiance...an inner beauty that shines on their faces, reflecting grace, commitment, and strength.
The second roll call requested that "all those who went out on shlichut in the 60's, please rise...all those who went out in the 70's, please rise...in the 80's..." and so on and so forth.
While there were a substantial amount of women standing, when the request came for "all those in the 2000's, please rise," the overwhelming majority of the women present stood up: Most rabbis and rebbetzins at their posts today went out after the Rebbe's passing. The truth of the Rebbe's vision of a rejuvenated Jewry prevails, time and time again.
I was privileged to see it clearly that night, in the huge empire the Rebbe has built, from Alaska to New Zealand.