LI Jews greet Rosh Hashana Wednesday night

Neal Spevack, spiritual leader of a synagogue in Islandia, has no doubts what he will talk about as Rosh Hashanah begins Wednesday night at sunset: the quest by Palestinians for statehood launched by their president, Mahmoud Abbas, at the United Nations last week.

"Israel is a very visceral thing for many Jews in America," said Spevack, a rabbi-in-training who heads the Chavurat Emet in Islandia. "If you were to take Israel away from us I think it would affect us all. At the same time, Israel is not a perfect state. It is run by human beings."

But Rabbi Leslie Schotz of the Jewish Center of Bay Shore, a conservative synagogue, says she will not touch on the topic, in part because it is simply too controversial. "We have people divided," she said. "We have people who feel strongly about the state of Israel. Other people believe the Palestinians should have a homeland.

"I think the High Holy Days is more about inspiring people than making people feel like the rabbi doesn't understand their point of view on a particular subject," she said.

Rosh Hashanah, which marks the Jewish New Year, begins Wednesday night with services that should last at least an hour at most synagogues. That will be followed by longer services -- some up to six hours -- Thursday and Friday mornings. The holiday ends Friday at sunset.

Unlike secular society's New Year's celebrations, Rosh Hashanah is marked not by partying but by intense self-reflection among practicing Jews, Schotz and Spevack said. It is a time when Jews think about how they have acted, seek forgiveness from those they have wronged, and dedicate themselves to living a better life.

The High Holy Days kick off with the blowing of the shofar, a trumpet made from a ram's horn. The sound is meant to awaken the faithful symbolically from their "slumber" in preparation for the coming judgment. Congregations also will light special candles and say special prayers.

Spevack's synagogue is adding another element to the celebration: They are inviting Jewish military members and their families to attend their services as part of the "Joining Forces" campaign launched by Michelle Obama to assist military families. The services will be held at the Sheraton Long Island in Hauppauge.