Two United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism-affiliated synagogues, Shir Chadash in Mataire, La., and Congregation Beth Israel in Biloxi, Miss., were severely affected by Hurricane Katrina. Here is a report on Shir Chadash and a letter about Beth Israel.

METAIRE, LA.
Yom Kippur, Jews believe, is in some ways a time of transition. As the 10 Days of Repentance reach their awe-inspiring climax, as the gates of repentance shut behind us, we look out toward the new year.

This Yom Kippur, temporarily storm-shuttered Shir Chadash in Metaire, La., will open again, just in time for Yom Kippur, just in time to look forward to the new year with renewed hope.

Shir Chadash, just outside New Orleans, was flooded with more than 12 inches of water by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, and just about everything the water touched it destroyed. Tallitot, siddurim, chumashim, carpets, pews, school books, office equipment - all have suffered irreversible water damage or been contaminated by mold. Its Torah scrolls are safe - they were moved to a safe place on an upper floor at the local UJA Federation building the day before the storm - and so are its raised bimah and the ark that stands on it.

On the Sunday between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, reports Shir Chadash's executive director, Michael Kancher, about 30 National Guard members took a bus out from New Orleans to spend the day at the synagogue. They cleaned up the buildings; mopped the cement floors, moved the pews out and set chairs up, and prepared it for services on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

Mr. Kancher says that he expects about 250 people to come for services; in a normal year that number would be between 500 and 600. "I think there's a big need for it in the community," he said. "A lot of people have been asking for it." The synagogue cannot offer the services it supplies most years - no babysitting, no children's programming - but no one's bothered by that.

Rabbi Ted Lichtenfeld, who just joined the congregation in August, has been living in Houston since the flood, but he's been back often. His wife has had to rejoin her parents in New Jersey; she's pregnant with her first baby, due in November. Rabbi Lichtenfeld will lead Yom Kippur services. "He's been absolutely incredible for this community," Mr. Kancher says.

Everyone realizes, he adds, that the community will be changed irrevocably by Hurricane Katrina. First, not everyone will come back to live in Metaire - parents have had to enroll their children in school, and some of the older congregants are now living with their children in other states. The congregation, at least at first will be smaller. "But the bond now between people who are here is very very tight," he said. "People look forward to doing whatever they possible can for each other and for the community.

"We're trying to hold things together, and slowly we'll rebuild."