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Hello World of Faith readers,  

This week, we spoke with U.S. Jews about what’s worrying them ahead of the High Holy Days. In the Midwest, farmers talk about the spiritual reasons they embrace regenerative agriculture. And France's Catholic bishops predict huge crowds will greet the pope on his upcoming visit. 

Police tape hangs outside the Temple Israel synagogue on March 13, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

HIGH HOLY DAYS

US Jews feel 'precarious' as High Holy Days approach amid antisemitism fears and internal divisions 

As the High Holy Days begin, rabbis in the United States say their congregations are deeply unsettled by antisemitic threats and aware of sharp divisions in their own communities. But many are also determined to embrace the coming days of celebration and reflection. The High Holy Days begin at sundown on Friday with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year; it will be observed until nightfall on Sunday. A week later comes Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This year, it is observed from sunset on Sept. 20 until after nightfall on Sept. 21. Read more. 

Why this matters:

• The Secure Community Network, which provides safety advice to Jewish institutions throughout North America, has been offering security webinars and in-person training in recent weeks on how to respond to active threats. 
  
  
• The SCN's national director says its task has become more complicated as antisemitic threats surface from a wider variety of domestic and foreign sources — ranging from proxies of Iran to white supremacists in the U.S. 
  
  
• David Ingber, a prominent New York City rabbi, says many of his congregants are politically liberal and opposed to Israel’s policies on Gaza and other issues, yet are troubled by vehement assertions that Israel has no right to exist as a Jewish state. 

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Joe Kent's resignation over Iran war reignites antisemitism fears and debate over Israeli influence 
• US Jews grapple with a surge in attacks and bitter rifts over Israeli policies 
• AP-NORC poll reveals sharp divides among US Jews over Israel and Gaza 

SPIRIT-LED FARMING 

For these Midwest farmers, regenerative agriculture is about more than soil health. It's spiritual

Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, a farmer in Minnesota, has transformed a conventional farm using both formal agricultural education and the Indigenous wisdom he learned as a youth growing up in the Guatemalan rainforest. His work has inspired a network of diverse Midwesterners, including Lakota tribal members and former large-scale farmers, all committed to eco-spirituality and regenerative agriculture. Read more. 

Key points:

• Haslett-Marroquin's farm embraces crop diversity and natural solutions — no herbicides, pesticides or chemical fertilizers — for its poultry or other operations. He wants it to be a model for others.
  
  
• Their shared motivation comes amid rising interest in nature-based spirituality and related societal shifts: a rethinking of modern agriculture, growing secularization, climate change anxiety and intensifying interest in health and wellness.
   
• Eco-spirituality and regenerative agriculture aren't new. Nineteenth century America saw homesteaders cultivating public land they'd been given. In the 1960s, a “back-to-the-land” movement surfaced alongside a new wave of environmentalism. And many of today's approaches to land stewardship stem from Indigenous traditions. 

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Beef is a way of life in Texas, but it’s hard on the planet. This rancher thinks she can change that 
• For many spiritual seekers, author Wendell Berry was a fellow pilgrim and contrarian 
• Bit by bit, small US groups chip away at historic levels of social isolation 

PAPAL TRIP

Pope’s visit to France likely to attract 1M people, with Mass and vigil in Paris and Lourdes trip 

Pope Leo XIV will visit France later this month, with the Bishops’ Conference of France expecting over 1 million people to attend. The four-day visit, which marks the first official papal state visit to the country in 18 years, will include popemobile rides, an open-air Mass in Paris and a stop in Lourdes, a key pilgrimage site. Read more. 

Key points:

• The visit will begin in Paris, where Leo will meet with President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace, before delivering a speech at the headquarters of UNESCO, the U.N.'s cultural agency. 
  
  
• Leo will then travel by popemobile along a 2.5-kilometer (1.6-mile) route through central Paris as church bells ring across the city. Organizers say as many as 150,000 people could gather to welcome him. 
  
  
• He will later celebrate vespers at Notre Dame Cathedral and end the day with a prayer vigil with young people at France’s national stadium.