NEW ORLEANS —

Cantor Joel Colman of Temple Sinai in New Orleans faced a difficult decision as Hurricane Katrina approached, contemplating when to leave and what to pack, uncertain of how long he would be away.

"When to leave, what to pack, because you had no idea how long you were going to be away," said Colman. Advertisement

Expecting to be gone for only a few days, Colman returned to find a city eerily silent and unchanged.

"There was no cars, there were no trucks, no dogs barking, no children playing, and no birds chirping; it was just silent," he said.

Despite the challenges, Colman was determined to return to his congregation, living in a FEMA trailer parked outside Temple Sinai as a constant reminder of the city's ongoing recovery.

"It was tough because the FEMA trailer was ac

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