I recently read about a Rabbi who shocked his congregation by announcing that the sermon he just delivered was written by ChatGPT.
A cute stunt that begs an important question: could AI ever replace Rabbis? One of our alumni actually asked me this and it made me super nervous. Am I being replaced?? Who better to ask than ChatGPT itself! Here was our conversation:
Me: “Dear ChatGPT, will AI replace rabbis?”
ChatGPT: “A rabbi serves as a spiritual leader, teacher, and guide within the Jewish community. They provide counseling, offer interpretations of religious texts, lead religious ceremonies, and play a crucial role in the community's life and development. While AI can provide information and insights from religious texts, it lacks the human touch, empathy, and understanding required for many aspects of rabbinical work.”
Great answer! (And a win for my job security, for sure.)
This week I attended shiva for a friend of JGSI who just lost his mother. The protocols of shiva are quite unique: you’re actually not supposed to initiate conversation with the mourner. You’re there to listen, respond when spoken to, and provide support and love. You’re there to be there. I sat with him while he cried about his mother and my heart genuinely broke for him.
Note: I am not a traditional Rabbi. I have no interest in a pulpit and I generally shy away from public communal roles. Instead, I busy myself with building relationships. Over the last 16 years in the rabbinate I’ve spent my time developing literally thousands of close friendships with grad students, alumni, partners and supporters alike. With each personal relationship we’ve grown JGSI and helped cultivate a whole generation of 30,000+ future Jewish leaders through grad school and beyond. I honestly feel like I have the greatest job in the world.
My role as a Rabbi extends beyond technical knowledge of religion or tradition. It requires human connection, understanding, empathy and emotion. And no AI can ever replace that.
Every Jew is on their own unique journey in Judaism. But I still encourage everyone to find a real human Rabbi to guide and challenge them along the way. Life is complicated and sometimes you will need more than some chatbot spouting off Jewish facts from the internet. I'm there to be there.
