Will AI Replace Us?
The photo of Chabad emissaries gathered for the International Conference
This week, I have the privilege of spending several days with more than 6,000 colleagues and friends from 111 countries at the annual Chabad International Conference. It is a gathering unlike any other, part family reunion, part strategy summit, part spiritual recharge. We come together to share ideas, confront challenges, explore opportunities, and draw strength from one another.
But above all, the conference served as a powerful reminder of our mission: to stand as the Rebbe's emissaries, carrying the flame of Judaism, the light of Torah, mitzvot, goodness, and kindness, into every corner of the world.
Chayale and I feel profoundly privileged to serve in this role, under the dedicated mentorship and leadership of Rabbi Benjy and Hinda Silverman, working to build a vibrant Jewish business community and supporting thousands of Jewish professionals. Our mission is not only to help enrich their careers and material lives, but also to strengthen their spiritual lives through connection, community, and the timeless values of Jewish tradition. (See here to tune in to the International Gala this Sunday at 1pm.)
AI & Moshiach: The Final Frontier
One of the most anticipated workshops this year was titled “AI & Moshiach: The Final Frontier,” presented by Rabbi Simon Jacobson, renowned author of Toward a Meaningful Life. He spoke about the Jewish approach to technological advancement through the lens of the Rebbe's teachings.
From the very beginning of his leadership, the Rebbe urged his chassidim to harness every new tool for holiness, from radio broadcasts of Torah in the 1950s, to televised farbrengens in the 1970s, to Chabad.org's launch in the early 1990s as the first major Jewish educational website, now serving over 50 million users annually.
The Rebbe would often quote the teaching from Ethics of the Fathers, “Everything G-d created in this world was meant for His glory,” emphasizing that every new discovery carries a divine purpose. He also drew from the holy Zohar, which foretells that in the era preceding the Redemption, the world would experience an unprecedented revolution of knowledge, innovation, and advancement, an outpouring of wisdom from both the spiritual and physical realms. This surge of information and technological progress, the Rebbe taught, is part of humanity's preparation for the coming of the Redemption, an age of abundance, clarity, and divine revelation.
Technology is not inherently good or bad. It is a gift, one that must be used responsibly, with boundaries, and ultimately for the purpose of elevating the world.
Then Rabbi Jacobson addressed the question on everyone's mind:
Will AI replace us?
He demonstrated an AI model trained on his own lectures and writings, able to answer questions, generate sermons, and provide guidance around the clock. If AI can produce better lectures or more polished explanations, what then becomes of the rabbi? What becomes of the doctor, the lawyer, the professor?
His answer was simple and profound:
AI can replicate information.
It cannot replicate a soul.
If a human being were nothing more than a biological machine, then yes, machines might replace us.
But Judaism teaches that we are defined not by the data we carry but by the neshamah, the Divine spark within us. Our purpose is not to dispense information but to touch another person's soul, to awaken their inner light and guide them toward their unique mission in this world.
In the future, a doctor may not be needed merely to diagnose, but to heal the whole person by recognizing the role of their physical health in fulfilling their purpose.
A lawyer will not be valued only for legal expertise, but as a builder of peace and justice between people. Every profession will ultimately be guided by this deeper calling: to reveal goodness, connection, and purpose.
This theme, human uniqueness, human mission, human light, flows directly into this week's parsha.
The Light of Sarah and the Mission of Rebecca
This week's Torah portion describes the marriage of Isaac and Rebecca. After the passing of his mother Sarah, the Torah tells us that Isaac brought Rebecca into his mother's tent and was comforted. Rashi explains the meaning behind this comfort:
During Sarah's lifetime, three miracles occurred in her home:
Her Shabbat candles burned from week to week.
A blessing rested in her dough.
A cloud of Divine presence hovered over the tent.
When Sarah passed away, these miracles ceased. When Rebecca entered the tent, they returned.
These were not merely external signs; they reflected the very essence of Jewish womanhood and the spiritual foundation of the Jewish home. A Jewish woman is entrusted with three sacred mitzvot that define and nurture this inner holiness: separating challah when baking bread—originally given to the Kohen in the times of the Temple and today respectfully burned; immersing in the mikvah after menstruation, which brings the Divine presence, purity, and blessing into the home and family; and lighting the Shabbat candles each week, illuminating her home with warmth, clarity, and spiritual light.
Challah—representing sustenance—and the Cloud of Glory—symbolizing shelter and the sanctity of marriage—correspond to the essential internal and external needs of life: food and protection.
But light, the Shabbat candle, represents something deeper.
Light embodies warmth, clarity, purpose, and the soul itself.
Just as physical light transforms a room without adding any objects to it, spiritual light transforms life without adding resources, only meaning.
A person can exist and survive in a dark and cold world, but to truly live, we need light and purpose.
Shabbat Candles and the Light of Redemption
In 1974, the Rebbe launched a global initiative encouraging every Jewish woman and girl (from age three and up) to recommit to the age-old special Mitzvah of lighting Shabbat candles. Today, millions participate, bringing light to a world that often feels overwhelmed by darkness.
The Zohar teaches:
“When a woman lights Shabbat candles with joy, she brings peace to the world, blessing to her family, and children who illuminate the world.”
And the Midrash adds:
“If you keep the lights of Shabbat, I will show you the lights of Zion”—the light of Moshiach.
Just as the Shabbat candles usher peace and warmth into our homes, the era of Redemption will usher peace and warmth into the entire world. Maimonides describes that time as one of abundance, wisdom, and harmony, when the entire world will be filled with the knowledge of God “as the waters cover the sea.”
We are approaching that era now, a global Shabbat, an age of spiritual awakening. If AI represents the peak of human knowledge, then the human soul represents the purpose of that knowledge.
Every mitzvah we do is a candle lit in the darkness. Every connection we make is a spark of redemption.
