Where we are today

The sanctuary and the social are rapidly becoming a steel and cinderblock shell. The walls were compromised by water and they all must go.

Very soon all the demolition and cleaning work will be done. We are having another volunteer workday at shul on Sunday morning. The seats are being moved back into the bare sanctuary so the social hall can be used for the lunches on first and second day Rosh HaShanah.

We have our first services at Jefferson Baptist Church on Friday night. Last evening Steve W., Dr. Bob and I did a walkthrough at the church, accompanied by Steve W’s Baptist conterpart, Mike B. Our neighbors at Jefferson Baptist are being unbelievably accomodating. It will not be the same as being home for the High Holydays, but we will be among friends.

After the holidays we will be back in our own space and we will have to get used to davening in the shell for a while. If we are patient, Beth Shalom will be even more beautiful than it was the day before the storm hit.

After Rita--Second Day

Volunteers arrived yesterday morning for a second day of clean-up. The Religious School/Rayner Center wing was cleaned so that Rayner can open in the morning. By now the sanctuary is a shell. The seats have been removed and the damaged ceiling has been torn out. Dryers and dehumidifiers are running all over the building. It is not exactly homey, but the shul does not look like a disaster area anymore.

A number of the kids helped clean debris from the playground. It is so clear that the think of Beth Shalom as home.

The damage to the shul was featured on the front page of the Advocate’s metro section. I am assuming that is how Mayor Holden learned of our tsuris. He paid a visit late in the afternoon. We all deeply appreciate his mentchlikeit.

While services will be at Jefferson Baptist for a bit, the plan is to have the social hall cleaned so that it can be used for the lunches on Rosh HaShanah.

There will be many more opportunities for volunteers in the coming weeks. Very soon we will need to move the seats back into the sanctuary and rebolt them to the floor. If the work continues to go well, we will be praying again in the sanctuary after the High Holidays. The place will have a rather industrial look for a while, but at least we will be home again.

Many blessings to all those who have been caring for the shul in these tiring and difficult days.

Not so lucky with Rita

To the friends of Beth Shalom:

Our precious shul suffered substantial water damage as a result of hurricane Rita. Water poured into the sanctuary and the social hall through the air vents destroying the ceilings and flooding both areas. Our roof is intact and the building is otherwise structurally sound, but we need extensive repairs.

Unfortunately, I was the one who discovered the damage. I went to shul early to see if we had power. It was clear when I drove up that we did not. I took a walk around the building to see if we had an exterior damage and then went into the building with my flashlight. When I got to the end of the religious school wing I heard the sound of rushing water and a few steps later was splashing through water in the hallway. I followed the sound to the social hall and saw the water streaming in and the ceiling tiles falling. I ran to the sanctuary and the water was coming in there as well. I made my way up to the bima and did a quick check of the Torah scrolls, found they were dry, and started making telephone calls.

As soon as the first few volunteers arrived we began to evacuate the Sifrei Torah. This was the second evacuation for the Touro and New Orleans Jewish Day School scrolls. All of them are now safe and are being kept by a congregant. More help arrived and we began moving prayerbooks, chumashim, and ritual objects. James and Jessica came and worked at moving computers and other electronic equipment.

A professional recovery crew soon arrived, but our people did not turn the work over to them. They picked up shovels and squeeges as well. Over the course of the day dozens of volunteers threw themselves into the hot and dirty work. I am particularly proud of our religious school kids who so clearly love their synagogue. Many thanks also to the men of Sigma Alpha Mu who also pitched in.

While the clean-up was still in process, Dr. Bob and I met with Rev. Tommy French of or neighbor, Jefferson Baptist Church, to make plans for the High Holydays. Thank God for good friends. Rev. French told us that we could use his facilities for as long as needed. Services for this Shabbat will be there as well as services for the High Holydays. Our friends at the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge and at University Baptist offered their buildings as well.

We will be fine and our sanctuary and social hall will be restored. Still, it made the heart ache to see such damage. The nechemta, the comfort, in all this was watching the congregation pull together and do what needed to be done. The people of Beth Shalom are the most eloquent sermon on the meaning of community that could ever be given.

My Fifteen Minutes Are Over.

Please excuse this, but I have to put this up for my Dad’s sake.

Excerpt from President Bush’s remarks at the Republican Jewish Coallition 20th anniversary:

Rabbi Stanton Zamek of the Temple Beth Shalom Synagogue in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, helped an African American couple displaced by the storm track down their daughter in Maryland. When Rabbi Zamek called the daughter, he told her, "We have your parents." She screamed out, "Thank you, Jesus!" (Laughter.) He didn't have the heart to tell her she was thanking the wrong rabbi. (Laughter and applause.)

The full text of the speech can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050921-1.html
Of course, I was only able to help Mr. and Mrs. Johnson because the Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge sent a group of rescuers from both B’nai Israel and Beth Shalom into New Orleans. They were in harm’s way. I was at the shul.

Siman Tov

This past Shabbes we had a surprise simcha at Beth Shalom. Jordan of is one of many, many people whose lives have been disrupted by Katrina. He was supposed to be on the bima of Gates of Prayer this past Shabbat for his Bar Mitzvah. Instead he and his family joined us for the Green Room Minyan.

Mike, our able gabbai, made sure that Jordan had the first aliyah and he was called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah. It so happened that Rabbi Loewy was also with us for Shabbat. The previous evening, Jordan had helped him lead a special New Orleans service prior that was held prior to our service. At the morning service, Rabbi Loewy was invited to give Jordan a blessing. The kahal of Baton Rougians and New Orleanians belted out “siman tov” in Jordan’s honor.

It certainly was not the Bar Mitzvah that Jordan and his family had planned. We did, however, manage to cover the basics: Jordan was called to the Torah, his parents got to kvell, his Rav blessed him, and he was embraced by a warm and caring kahal.

At the end of services, just as we finished Adon Olam, a reporter from the San Jose Mercury News rushed in. He had tried to make to services to say Kaddish, but had been delayed. The reporter asked if a few people could stay for a moment and repeat the Kaddish. The whole kahal regrouped and provided him with an instant minyan.

It was a morning filled with Mitzvot.

At a loss for words, for once

On Tuesday I was invited to take part in a press conference with Mayor Holden and a representative of FEMA. The Mayor was to announce plans to move residents of local shelters into trailers. It may not seem like that much of an improvement to us, but for someone living on a shelter floor, a safe, clean, and above all, private trailer would be a tremendous blessing.

My critical role at the press conference was this: I was supposed to stand behind the mayor with a number of other clergy. I was supposed to be a prop, which I was happy to do. I think the Mayor is doing on outstanding job. So you can imagine I was a little startled when the Mayor turned toward me and motioned me to go to the podium. I walked to the podium and in front of the TV cameras, without any idea of what I was going to say when I got there. I needed a bit of time, but there is a limit to how slowly you can walk a distance of three feet. I am not sure what I said. I am pretty sure my words were not worth remembering.

A number of the prominent African American clergymen were at this news conference. They face tremendous challenges in dealing with the desperate needs of in their communities, yet they were optimistic. They were also cracking jokes. One gentlemen came up to me and asked, “Is Nathan F. one of yours.” When I told him that Nathan did belong to my congregation he bowed his and said with mock solemnity, “let us pray for brother Nathan.”

Listening to the Mayor and the other speakers, I got a glimpse of the enormity of the task of reconstruction and resettlement. FEMA is talking about moving all the shelter residents into trailer developments and other housing within a week. I fear that if the authorities do not plan carefully, these areas will become pockets of extreme poverty that will be easy to ignore, not unlike the “townships” surrounding South Africa’s large cities. I hope we are not building new Sowetos.

I am not sure I belonged at this venue, but it was an honor to be asked. “Doing” a press conference was just another addition to the long list of those things I never thought would be part of my Rabbinate in Baton Rouge.

Thanks to Dr. Bob

I have been negligent in failing to mention that Beth Shalom would be crippled in dealing with current crisis without my dear friend Doctor K. (or Dr. Bob, if you prefer). Not only has he been one of our most active volunteers, but he is also ably guiding the congregation through this difficult time.

Last night, after a long board meeting, Bob told me that he feels privileged to be where he is needed and that he finds spiritual fulfillment in what he is doing. I admire his sense of mission. His leadership is essential to the shul and his friendship is one of my greatest treasures. May God strengthen his hands.

Our board meeting consisted of a narrative. Bob tried to tell the story of everything that has happened in our community in the past two weeks. It took more than two hours. I listened and wondered how we did it all. And then I remembered that, for one thing, we had Bob.

Like Living Beings

These days since the hurricane have been so strange. Each day I find myself called on to do things that I never imagined would have been part of my work.

Saturday morning, instead of leading meditation and services, I was in a convoy of vans and s.u.v.’s speeding toward New Orleans with an off duty SWAT team from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s department. We were heading into the city to evacuate the Torah scrolls from several of the synagogues.

Volunteers from Beth Shalom and B’nai Israel, together with representatives of the New Orleans Jewish Federation, Rabbi David Saperstein of the Union of Reform Judaism, Rabbi Cohn of Temple Sinai, and our nephew Nathan were among those who participated in this holy mission. Many thanks are due to Richard L. of B’nai Israel. Without him and his associates at the Sheriff’s office we would never have been allowed into the city. Thanks also to Erich, our Federation president, who organized the convoy.

We barreled toward New Orleans at about 85 miles an hour with sheriff’s cars in front of and behind the convoy. We did not slow down until we reached the checkpoint at La Place. The roads were filled with military and emergency vehicles and the skies with helicopters. As soon as we got off the spillway, we began to see signs of damage: billboards bent down to the ground or thrown into buildings, a motel with all the siding ripped off, a self-storage facility with its metal sides peeled off and the contents of people’s lockers exposed, and piles of lumber that used to be homes and stores.

Off the highway, the scenes became more surreal. The streets are almost empty and the city is eerily quiet. Trees are down almost everywhere you look. We saw boats that had been beached by water on the median on Carrolton. Audubon Park is an army camp now, full of humvees and giant troop trucks. Soldiers were everywhere checking houses and apartment buildings for the living and the dead.

We did not linger at any stop. The buildings were checked quickly for damage and we took the scrolls out and moved on. At each stop Rabbi Martha tagged the scrolls so that later, when the Sifrei Torah go home again, it will be easy to determine where they belong.

It was terribly sad to take the Torah’s away from where they belong. But to leave them there would have been worse. The Torah in our tradition is as close to a living being as an inanimate object can get. Torah scrolls are almost like living teachers. They should not be alone in empty synagogues.

In all, we gathered about 25 Torah scrolls. We wrapped them carefully in talitot for the trip back to Baton Rouge. Everyone understood the holiness of our task. We were quiet and deliberate in our work. There was reverence for the Sifrei Torah and for the stricken city.

When we got back to Beth Shalom, services had just ended. The chevre ran out to help us bring in the scrolls. Some children got to carry in the smaller Sifrei Torah. A number of the scrolls are bound for Houston Others will stay in the arks of Beth Shalom and B’nai Israel until called for.

I was honored to take part in this great mitzvah. It was surely one of the most important things I have ever done in my life.

Allen Epilogue

Here is a message that was waiting for me at home last Friday night:

This is Brian Y, Ronit’s husband, I just wanted to let you know that the evacuee who was at our house was taken safely to the airport, fed, and sent on his way with some traveling money in his pocket. I just got a call from his sister and he is sitting down at the table for some meat loaf and all the amenities with his nieces and nephews around him. So our mission was a success.

5 men, 7 Dogs, and a Macaw

I am behind in my writing and will try to catch up. This post concerns our last group of evacuees, who arrived Thursday night, September 8th. The information we had was that we would be placing Charles, his partner Brad, their 6 small dogs, and a cat. As it turned out, the freelance team that was working in New Orleans that day brought three other men: A neighbor of Charles and Brad, a disabled man, and Allen, an elderly man who was afraid to come out of his house, until he saw the kippah on one chabadnik rescuer’s head.

We assembled an intake team that initially included the two of us, Gail, our nephew Nathan, and Dr. Rachel. When the cars pulled into the shul it was clear that there were going to be some complications. The disabled man appeared to have been passing the time stuck in a city without water drinking sanitary, but inebriating fluids. The “ 6 small dogs” were in fact one tiny dog and 6 fairly large dogs, none of which fit in the dog crates that Richard L. had supplied us. They also brought a large macaw. There were no cats as they had evacuated themselves.

So we got to work. The disabled man needed a special needs shelter, so Dr. Rachel with the help of Steve W. started working the phones. Allen had a sister in Boston who wanted to take him in. I talked to the sister and then put Allen on the phone. Allen, like many of the evacuees we dealt with, was a bit disoriented and initially refused to go to Boston. He had not eaten in days. Ronit Y. was called in to take him to her home for the night after Sheila made his travel arrangements.

Charles and Brad’s neighbor was the easiest to assist as his brother was on his way in to the city and just needed directions to the synagogue. He was the first to leave Beth Shalom.

Charles and Brad were upset as they somehow got the idea that a relative had a private jet waiting for them in Baton Rouge and that they would be flown immediately to Santa Monica. I am not sure where the freelance rescuers got this idea, but it was in fact too good to be true. It took some time to persuade them that something else was going to happen. Martha and Richard did in fact have leads on places for them to go, but needed some time to work things out. In the meantime they needed to rest.

We needed some extra help, so I called Richard. He ran out and bought a set of kennels for large dogs and we called in Frank and Karen W. from our congregation who agreed to shelter the two men and seven dogs. While we were waiting for the W’s to arrive Richard joined by Jeffrey and Erich, who Richard called for help, started putting together dog kennels. The saintly Frank and Karen then arrived with their pick up truck and we loaded the dogs into the bed.

With Richard’s help, a shelter was found for the disabled man and the New Yorkers agreed to take him there. This left us with just the macaw to take care of. The W’s could not take him too, so he was given food and water and a safe place to sleep in the Green Room.

It was well after 11 when we were finally able to shut down.

By Friday Martha and Richard had a solution for Charles, Brad and their menagerie. Someone is willing to let them use a house in Harrisburg, PA on 8 acres and will let them keep all of their pets. By Saturday afternoon they had been persuaded (with the help of many, including Karen W.) that this was a good solution, and im yirtze hashem they will be on their way soon.

I am so proud that Beth Shalom was able to participate in the Jewish Federation’s rescue missions and the whole community is grateful to those volunteers who helped run our ad hoc reception center and who offered home hospitality. Many thanks to Sheila for being willing to get calls late at night and book airline tickets.

The macaw seems to have enjoyed its stay at Beth Shalom. It even got to participate in Rabbi David Saperstein’s visit with LSU students.

Sharon Epilogue

I just checked in with Brian and Ton’ya to see if Sharon (see the entry, “Three More Souls”) made it out of Baton Rouge today. She is in the air right now on her way to Los Angeles. Sharon is staying with an old friend until she can get back to her apartment in the French Quarter.

Ton’ya F. stayed home from work today to take care of her guest. Since Sharon was a bit confused, Ton’ya checked her in at the airport. She even got a “ticket” from the clerk so that she could go through security with Sharon and take her to her gate. Bagele was cleared to go with her under her seat because Brian went and got the needed certificate from a veterinarian.

Thanks to Brian and Ton’ya’s compassion, Sharon, who came to us shaken and angry, left us comforted and hopeful.

Johnsons Epilogue

I wrote earlier about reuniting the Johnsons with their daughter in Maryland. They were taken out of New Orleans in the Federation van convoy. Their daughter’s note which follows should be read as thanks to the Federation, B’nai Israel and Beth Shalom, as all had a hand in this. I will tell them so when I reply. The Baton Rouge Jewish Community’s work is obviously deeply appreciated.

Good afternoon, Rabbi Zamek and Ms. Mimi B.
 
Thank you so much for all your gracious and much-needed assistance!  My parents landed safely early yesterday morning at BWI.  They are "exhaling"  and resting comfortably at my home along with my brother, his wife and daughter, and the rest of the family (including Spike the Wonder Dog).  It feels wonderful!

My parents cannot speak highly or often enough about how they were treated and cared for by you, the Rayner/Clubb family, and the entire Beth Shalom congregation.  They would like to send a personal note of thanks to you, so would please forward the appropriate address information at your earliest convenience?  
 
On behalf of the entire Johnson family, please accept our deepest and unending gratitude. 
shalom,
terry

Three More Souls

I just got word from Martha that she got one of the three evacuees that came out of New Orleans last night on an Angle Flight plane to Dallas. Dr. H was an elderly man who was the only person left on his block. This was a relatively easy one. He had a son in Dallas waiting for him. All we had to do was get him there. The New Orleans Federation people arranged a flight for him. The only complication was that Angel Flight called at 4:30 that they were leaving at 5:00. There was no way to get him there that fast. They agreed to hold the plane and Miriam, who had hosted him for the night tried to get him there through the hopeless traffic. The plane was still there when they arrived long after 5:00, largely because it had no fuel. There are gas lines no matter how you travel these days. But, Baruch HaShem, Dr. H is on his way to family and security.

It is taking a bit longer to get Samuel and Sharon out, but ultimately Samuel will be flown to Houston, to be cared for by Chabad and Sharon is going to a friend in LA, together with Bagele, her tiny disabled dog ( he wears a wheel chair rig to help his back legs along.) Sharon leaves tomorrow for LA and we are still working on Samuel’s transportation. Many thanks to Brian and Ton’ya F. for opening their home late last night. Thanks also to our patient intake volunteers who calm our visitors and get the information from them that allows us to help them. Sometimes, as last night, this process can take hours.

These people were brought out of New Orleans by a volunteer rescue squad from New York, accompanied by Ben B. from our congregation and some of his friends. Ben looked fatigued and very sad. He said, “I will never be the same after what I have seen.” Ben and his brother Michael have been into New Orleans a number times. They delivered medical supplies to the convention center. The people asked, “Are you from the police? Are you from the government?” “No,” they said, “we’re just two guys from Baton Rouge.”

I don’t want to take anything away from Ben and Michael, they are resourceful and brave men, but you have to ask yourself: If private citizens can get to the Convention Center and deliver insulin and other critical supplies, why can’t FEMA?

Ralph B. from B’nai Israel went into New Orleans with the New Yorkers today. The woman with nine cats they were looking for had already been evacuated. We may be finished with the rescue phase of the Jewish Federation’s response to Katrina.

Many blessings to all those from both kehilot who went into the disaster zone and to all the people who staffed “headquaters,” feeding, comforting, and listening to these dazed and tired people.

Helicopters at Dawn

Tuesday morning, September 6th
It was still dark this morning when my nephew Nathan and I entered the airplane hanger the Air National Guard is using as its base at the Baton Rouge airport. I had been invited to take part in an interfaith service for the troops, along with my friend, Rev. Steve Crump from the Unitarian Church

The service never took place. The troops began to move out ahead of schedule, so there was no time. We chatted with some of the soldiers and watched them load their helicopters. As the sun rose we could see that there were thirty or forty helicopters out on the tarmac.

The chaplain told us that many of the troops were based in New Orleans. These soldiers have just returned from Iraq. Many of their own homes are under water. Their base was flooded and much of their equipment was unsalvageable. They are being joined by Border Patrol officers from Texas and Oklahoma.

The heartbreaking part is that these soldiers do not have the basic supplies they need to do their job safely. They need hand sanitizer in large quantities. Soldiers have already contracted dysentery operating in New Orleans. Vicks Vapo Rub or some other mentholated ointment is needed. The soldiers put the ointment in their noses to overpower their ability to smell. There are no funnels to put oil in the choppers. There are not enough ATV’s or “mules” to ferry the heavy compressors out onto the tarmac after they have been repaired. The soldiers have to carry them.

Nathan took on the Guard as his project. He and Martha went out and bought all the hand sanitizer they could find. Walgreen’s gave them a steep discount. Nathan is using his sources to scrounge more supplies and will be sending out an appeal to the congregation.

Despite the lack of equipment. Despite the fact that FEMA brushed off the Guard officers when they called begging for supplies, these men and women are doing their job.

Watching those hulking Blackhawks flying away from Baton Rouge against the blood red sun made me proud. The failures of the federal government make me ashamed.

Help in many forms

Yesterday it was clear that Martha and I would need to spend most of the day at the shul. Martha called Rachel to see if Hannah could watch the kids. Rachel sent Hannah, but also Rose and Sally (who is displaced from Mandeville). Rachel told them that helping us was their contribution to the relief effort and she gave them a long list of chores to do. The poor kids did our laundry, gave Rachamim a bath, and straightened up the house. We are very grateful to them for freeing us to do what we needed to do.

Aaron Broussard on Meet the Press

I hope that many of you were able to watch Meet the Press on Sunday. The entire show was devoted to the hurricane. There some interesting points made about environmental damage (coastal erosion) as the root of New Orleans' vulnerability to hurricanes.

The most important segment of the program, however, was Tim Russert’s interview with Aaron Broussard, the president of Jefferson Parish. He eloquently made his case for the abandonment of the Parish by FEMA. He then broke down as he described the death of the mother of his emergency management director, who drowned on Friday after being trapped in her nursing home for 5 days. It was painful to watch, but a searing indictment of the inadequate response of the federal government to the aftermath of the storm.

Go to www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/ for transcript or podcast of the program

Another long day

The Federation rescue mission began at 4:00am, Sunday morning. By 1:00pm or so, the vans began returning to Baton Rouge. Beth Shalom was the processing site. We were well prepared as enough Beth Shalom members had volunteered space in their homes to accommodate 25 people. Volunteers from both synagogues brought food so that we could give evacuees lunch while we took down their information. Many thanks to Silvia Dewitt, Mimi Bonadona, Joshua Bonadona, Jeff Dubinsky, Joe and Joanne Kleiman, Susan Lipsey, Wendy Shiroda, and Liz Clubb who staffed our ad hoc reception center.

7 people were taken out of New Orleans and all but two were housed in the homes of Beth Shalom members. The Every family had relatives in San Antonio and Sheila Horowitz was able to get bus tickets for them. She put them on the bus herself.

Nevilah and Henry Johnson also had a relative out of town, a daughter who lives in Maryland, but they did not have her phone number. In this case it is a good thing that one’s privacy can so easily be invaded, because Martha and I were able to track down her unlisted number with a bit of googling and yahooing. It took a few tries but Liz and I were able to get a call through to the Johnson's daughter, Terry. From the reaction I got when I told her that we had her parents and that they were safe it was clear that she had no idea if they were alive or dead. We ran the cell phone down to the social hall (no reception in the building) and I put the phone in Mrs. Johnson’s hand and said, “here, talk to your daughter.” Everybody was in tears. Sheila came through again and helped Terry book a flight to Baltimore for her parents. They went home for dinner and a good night’s sleep with Liz.

Late Sunday night, Martha and Nathan (the Tulsans have arrived) went to get the ZAKA team from the airport. They will try to get to Woldenburg tomorrow to retrieve the bodies of the residents who died during the evacuation. It now seems there is at least one other deceased resident in the building. This woman will be taken to New York for burial.

Gail Kolthoff will arrive from San Francisco on Tuesday. Please come and introduce yourself. She is an incredible worker and a trip.

We spoke with her boss this morning. Rabbi Eric Weiss is a friend and colleague who runs the Jewish Healing Center in San Francisco. He said, “of course you can have Gail. Of course she can go. And, if you need me, I can be there in a week.” Rabbi Weiss is a specialist in bereavement and trauma counseling and he is coming.

I continue to get emails and calls from around the country with offers of help. Jews clearly understand that we are all responsible for one another.

Chazak v’Imatz!
Be Strong and Resolute!

God's Hands

September 4th, 2005. 10:05am
Dear Chevre

I wanted to take a moment to inform all of you what Beth Shalom is doing to respond to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. This note will be a bit stream of consciousness, I am afraid.
Our members have been working around the clock to help our brothers and sisters from New Orleans. In planning for the influx of evacuees, we decided that the best approach would be to host people in our congregant’s homes. Many people have volunteered their homes. There are evacuees, some elderly and ill, in Beth Shalom homes right now and we are expecting another group in today. Beth Shalom and B’nai Israel members are driving down to New Orleans in a Jewish Federation sponsored rescue mission. These people will be brought to Beth Shalom to be processed and placed in our member’s homes. Our system of housing evacuees is not as visible as a centralized shelter, but it is much more comfortable and personal. The willingness of our chevre to open their homes and their hearts is inspiring.

There is not time to tell you everything that has been happening in the last week. Martha and I have been on the phone almost constantly helping the Jewish Federation care for the displaced community of New Orleans.

Calls for assistance are pouring into our synagogues and the Federation. All of the Rabbis are scrambling to respond. Late last night, for example, I received a call from an evacuee who was being sheltered in Dallas. His father died at the Woldenburg nursing home in the midst of its evacuation. He is calling in ZAKA, the Israeli rescue and recovery organization, to retrieve the body. If the body cannot be buried in New Orleans, the family needs a temporary grave in our cemetery. David Deitch has already staked out the grave and I have Rabenhorst standing by.

We have had requests for a brit milah and for a confirmation. Beth Shalom will honor all such requests. Our religious school will be open to every Jewish child who wants to come. All services, classes and programs will be open to our displaced brothers and sisters.

Beth Shalom will be the home of the New Orleans Jewish Endowment in exile. We will be cramped for space, but we will make this work. Thanks to Jessica and James Runnels and Bob Fields, we have the computers and wireless internet access that will enable the New Orleans Federation to do their important work while they are here.

You may see some new faces around Beth Shalom. Through the generosity of Rabbi Martin Weiner and Rabbi Larry Raphael we are bringing in Gail Kolthoff from San Francisco to assist Martha with the resettlement work and with religious school. Gail at various times worked for Martha, Marty and me. We are so grateful to our colleague Rabbi Eric Weiss at the San Francisco Jewish Healing Center for letting Gail have a two-week leave to help us.

Because the work we are doing is so consuming, Martha and I felt that we needed some help at home. Our niece and nephew, Nathan and Justine Hood, are coming from Tulsa to help. They also want to help directly in disaster relief and so you will be seeing them around.

This past Shabbat was our first since Katrina. The sanctuary was very full on Friday night. Despite the losses people have experienced, we welcomed the Holy Sabbath with joy. There was real ruach in the room and the kahal boomed out the liturgy. It was comforting just to be together.

I will try to keep updating this journal as things develop.

Many blessings to all those who have so generously volunteered their time and talents. You are God’s strong hands.