Hurricane-Ravaged Jews Prepare for Passover on Gulf Coast

As residents of the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast prepare for Passover, which celebrates God bringing the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt, it's as if they have lived through an epic of almost biblical proportions.

"You're talking about Exodus, where you're going from something terrible, being under the rule of Pharaoh, toward freedom," said Lori Beth Susman, a board member of a conservative synagogue in Biloxi, Miss. "For many of us, the last seven months have been that kind of journey."

Congregations along the Gulf Coast find themselves at different places on that journey after August's arrival of Hurricane Katrina, the costliest hurricane in American history. Their Passover plans reveal the many ways Katrina continues to affect their religious lives, from damaging their synagogues to still scattering once-close members of congregations.

Traditionally, Passover is celebrated with a Seder dinner, at which the story of the Exodus is told. Families often have a first night Seder at home, and many synagogues hold a second night Seder. This year, the holiday begins at sundown Wednesday (April 12), and lasts eight days for Orthodox and Conservative Jews, and seven days for Reform Jews.

Susman's congregation, Beth Israel, is unable to hold services or a traditional Seder because of extensive wind damage. Instead, they will have the annual Seder at a local Methodist church, which also hosts their Sabbath services in a fellowship hall.

One of the most heavily damaged synagogues in the region, a New Orleans Orthodox congregation also called Beth Israel, has a decimated building and displaced members.

The synagogue, which is near the breach of the 17th Street Canal levee, got 10 feet of water in the sanctuary. Their membership is down about 30 percent from the pre-Katrina figure of 165 families, some of whom lived close enough to walk to services before they lost their homes.

"Everything was destroyed," said Eddie Gothard, past president of the congregation. "Every bench, every book, seven Torahs, every file cabinet, every record."

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