 As a result of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent 2005 levee failures in Greater New Orleans , the congregation 's building at 7000 Canal Boulevard filled with at least ten feet of water , and Beth Israel garnered national attention after attempts were made to save its Torah scrolls . Beth Israel 's rabbi , Yisroel Shiff , who had evacuated to Tennessee before Katrina hit , contacted Rabbi Isaac Leider , who had worked on ZAKA search @-@ and @-@ rescue teams in Israel for five years . After contacting federal officials and the Louisiana National Guard , Leider hired a helicopter to fly him to within a mile of Beth Israel , met with the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ) search @-@ and @-@ rescue team appointed to retrieve the scrolls . The group used rubber rafts to reach Beth Israel and enter it , where Leider waded into the sanctuary and rescued the Torah scrolls and their silver ornaments . 
