8 | JANUARY 26 • 2023 

I 

recently read an interesting article 
by Alan Zeitlin, “Should Rabbis 
Fear Robots?” Zeitlin interviewed 
several rabbis, asking them whether 
the brand new ChatGPT program 
could deliver sermons and 
answer halachic questions 
as well as human rabbis. 
For those who don’t 
know, ChatGPT is an 
artificial intelligence 
program that has recently 
been made available 
to the public, and the 
early reviews have been 
astounding. Think of it as a Google 
search program on steroids. It can 
quickly write a resume and cover letter 
for you … get relationship advice … 
produce a complete essay on virtually 
any topic … and perform a host of 
other complex tasks. Therefore, it’s not 
a big stretch to ask whether ChatGPT 
can do everything your current spiritual 
leader does … and maybe more. 
Want a good dvar Torah on Parshat 
Shemot? No problem. I requested 
the dvar Torah from ChatGPT, and 
in a matter of seconds received the 
following: 
“Parshat Shemot tells the story of the 
Israelites’ enslavement in Egypt and the 
beginning of Moses’ journey as a leader. 
One of the key themes of this parsha is 
the idea of redemption and liberation. 
“At the beginning of the parsha, the 
Israelites are in a state of slavery and 
oppression. They cry out to God for 
help, and God hears their cries and 
chooses Moses to lead them out of 
Egypt. 
“Moses is initially hesitant to take on 
this role, but with God’s guidance, he 
becomes a powerful leader and brings 
the Israelites out of slavery and into 
freedom. 
“This story teaches us about the 

power of faith and the importance of 
standing up for what is right. It also 
reminds us that God is always with us, 
even in times of hardship and struggle. 
“As we read this parsha, we can 
reflect on our own lives and think 
about the ways in which we may be 
called upon to be leaders and advocates 
for justice and righteousness. May we 
have the courage and faith to follow 
in Moses’ footsteps and work toward a 
world of freedom and equality for all.” 
Not bad for someone who didn’t even 
attend a yeshivah day school! Then 
again, one can visit Aish.com, Chabad.
org or a multitude of other sites and get 
the same kind of divrei Torah, too. 
Rabbi Shlomo Litvin, a Chabad 
rabbi in Kentucky, isn’t worried 
about artificial intelligence programs 
replacing rabbis. Said Rabbi Litvin, 
“Something artificial will always be 
artificial. What will be missing, no 
matter what, is the human soul, and 
that wisdom is what people come to 
shul to hear. There is no replacement.” 
Rabbi Erez Sherman of Los 
Angeles also is not threatened by 
the possibility of robotic rabbis 
and pointed out that a big part of 
a good sermon is how a sermon 
is delivered, something an AI 
program cannot easily duplicate. 
And Rabbi Greg Wall of Westport, 
Connecticut, believes that what rabbis 
transmit can’t be threatened by 
something that boasts no lineage. 
“It’s about mesorah,” Wall said. 
“When you hear a rabbi speak, 
they learned it from a rabbi, 
who learned it from the one 
before him. Knowing where 
it comes from provides 
authenticity that I don’t 
think any system or 
machine can have.” 

HALACHIC QUESTIONS
What about answering halachic 
questions? On the surface, it seems 
that if an artificial intelligence program 
can access the huge data repository of 
responsa that has accumulated during 
the last two millennia, it should be able 
to easily spit out reasonably accurate 
answers to halachic questions. 
I recently participated in a discussion 
about this subject on social media with 
several others, and the comments are 
worth sharing. 
A couple of folks saw no reason 
why most halachic questions couldn’t 
be answered by an AI program. (One 
person quipped, “RabbiGPT just needs 
to know when to refer the questioner 
to PosekGPT!”) They pointed out that 
Facebook, TikTok and other social 
media programs are already using 
sophisticated algorithms specifically 
tailored to an individual’s likes, 

PURELY COMMENTARY

Michael 
Feldstein
Times of 
Israel

opinion

Could ChatGPT Replace 
Rabbis and Halachic Decisors? 

