You cannot comprehend the magnitude of what happened in New Orleans without going there," said Rabbi Francine Roston of Congregation Beth El in South Orange.

Roston was one of four local rabbis, and 29 across the country, who just returned from a trip to the ravaged city sponsored by the United Jewish Communities' Rabbinic Cabinet.

They gathered there Nov. 27-29 to see what has taken place — and what has not — over the last two years, to speak with members of the local Jewish community, and to find ways to help the community over the long term.

The other area rabbis who joined the trip were Rabbi Donald Rossoff of Temple B'nai Or in Morristown, Rabbi Debra Bravo of Temple Emanu-El in Edison, and Rabbi Amy Small of Congregation Beth Hatikvah in Summit. Small serves on the executive committee of the UJC Rabbinic Cabinet.

What they found was a place full of depression as well as inspiration.

They saw the widely criticized FEMA trailers that have served as homes to dislocated New Orleans residents since the storm.

"To look at the tiny trailer and see three adults living there for two years and not sure when they'll get out — to think they are living like that, three adults and their families in one of these trailers — the amount of suffering is incredible," said Roston.

Even the areas not so hard hit, the French Quarter and the Garden District, have problems, said Roston.

"You go down there and it's beautiful and it's cleaned up from the rain and the wind. But what you notice is that even these parts that were not damaged are quiet. There's just no traffic. The stores close early."

Small spent time speaking with shopkeepers in the area. "Some wanted to put on a fresh face and smile and say everything was all right. But others were happy to have an ear to listen to them and said they do not have the traffic they need to stay alive. There are some shops boarded up on every street," she said. Visiting an art gallery, an owner told her, "Go home and tell people to come here. We need them. This is a beautiful place to be, and there's a lot to do."

Rabbi Gerald Weider, senior consultant to the UJC rabbinic cabinet, was critical of the government's response to the storm and its aftermath. "It was dreadfully clear that there are still large swaths of New Orleans that are empty and the federal government has done zippo to move things along," said Weider.

Participants conveyed the views of locals regarding the origins of the disaster. "The anger at the government is pervasive," said Small. "People do not view this as a natural disaster but as a disaster of the federal government," she said, adding that the "feelings of betrayal and sense of loss" among those she spoke to "is chilling."

The group also had a chance to meet with local rabbis. While Roston said they shared their sense of "an underlying stillness, a sense of depression in the community," she saw something else as well — a growing sense of community across traditional boundaries.

"Communities are working together that did not work together before the storm," she said. "The rabbis of all the movements were sitting together talking to us and they meet together monthly. I'm talking about Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist — men and women rabbis working together. And there's a high degree of cooperation among all the agencies in the Jewish community."

Still, the Jewish community has its struggles, from synagogues that need to be torn down and rebuilt to plummeting numbers — there are now fewer than 500 Jewish children living in New Orleans. "The young families who could leave and start over did," said Small.

Part of the goal of the trip, according to Weider, was to educate the rabbis not only about the problems but also to offer potential solutions, from putting pressure on Congress "to relieve the bottlenecks in funding," he said, to creating bonds between synagogues across the country and those in New Orleans.

Small knows exactly what she wants her congregants to do: give tzedaka. "It's not over just because we gave two years ago," she said. And she is suggesting that people who can should fly down to New Orleans, participate in hands-on rebuilding projects, and spend time with the people there. "I'm going to tell people to make their next travel plans to New Orleans, even if they don't plan to give tzedaka, and even if they don't want to rebuild with their own hands. An important part of rebuilding New Orleans is supporting the economy there."

Roston said she is considering what action she plans to take with her own congregation.

"I don't want to just go and have a campaign and raise money or have a one-shot trip. It's sexy to say, ‘Come and build,' but we need to think of a way to build lasting connections that's not just a Band-Aid or a handout," she said. "I think I need to work not as one rabbi but using the network of UJC to do some national community-wide initiatives — like, for instance, there's a need for lawyers to clear titles; they need health care workers and mental health professionals to give those there a break."

Still, Roston said, she plans to bring a group of teens down to New Orleans to "get inspired and learn about a rich, deep, old, beautiful Jewish community."

Regardless of what action she decides on, she said she planned to share the story of how UJC helped the community in New Orleans. UJC coordinated efforts among North American federations that raised more than $28 million for relief in the Jewish and general communities.

"People have a lot of misconceptions about the bureaucracy of federation, and people sitting in offices. UJC is about what happened in New Orleans and saying, ‘You're in crisis and we'll help you. You'll not only survive but you'll do better.'"