A haredi rabbi who conquered social media with messages about prosperity, spiritual growth, and self-fulfillment is not a real person.
An investigation published this month reveals that "Rabbi Menachem Goldberg," who presented himself as an experienced spiritual teacher and sold books and inspiration packages through Instagram and TikTok, is actually a character entirely created by artificial intelligence.
The character, who appears every morning against a backdrop resembling a New York synagogue, includes a full haredi appearance, voice, body movements, and fluent speech, but is based solely on a digital system.
Alongside inspirational videos, the "rabbi" promoted the sale of content packages priced between $19.99 and $24.99, using general language and universal messages.
The character's videos include visual and factual inaccuracies: an open Torah scroll placed aside in contradiction to Jewish law, Holy Arks with unfamiliar inscriptions, incorrect Hebrew inscriptions, and content with no mention of rabbis, books, or traditional sources.
Following the revelation, the character's follower count on TikTok dropped significantly, but on Instagram, it continues to gain popularity. However, some users claimed that the spiritual content presented is still beneficial to them, even if it is produced from a technological source.
Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, head of the Ethics Center at the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization, and Rabbi Yaron Moshkovitz, director of the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, commented: "Technology has great power, but it has no identity, responsibility, or authority. Artificial intelligence is not a rabbi and cannot serve as a source for halakhic (pertaining to Jewish law - ed.) rulings or moral guidance that obligates people."
They added, "Halakha and moral decisions rely on human judgment, personal responsibility, and an understanding of complex life situations. When a technological system is presented as a rabbinic voice, even if convincingly, it blurs a dangerous line and damages public trust."
The Tzohar Ethics Center, which operates a research institute on artificial intelligence, believes that AI can serve as an important tool for learning, knowledge accessibility, and content creation, but it cannot replace humans in areas where moral responsibility, reliability, and authority are required. "This is especially true when dealing with ethical, educational, or halakhic content, where the identity of the speaker and the trust placed in them are integral to the message itself," it was stated.
Furthermore, the Ethics Center warned against "a deterioration into a situation where the distinction between man and machine is blurred and seeks to preserve a fundamental distinction: a person is not a machine, and a machine is not a person - not in mental health treatment, not in halakhic rulings, and not in any other field. Artificial intelligence must evolve alongside humans, not in place of them."