There was a well-known but somewhat verbose rov who used to avoid the time limits imposed upon his pronouncements. His opening words were always, “Before I begin speaking, I would like to say a few words.” I, too, will begin with two stories to introduce this subject. The great Rav Berel Wein was sadly blind toward the end of his life but used AI to help him find the sources he needed. After a few attempts, he accused his AI aid of anti-Semitism. The explanation? He dictated an article about a Jewish prophet, but the AI took his reference to be profit, “a clear reference,” Rabbi Wein suggested, “to a classic anti-Semitic canard about Jewish love of money.”

The second story before the actual column is from my long-ago youth. My father used to listen to the Yiddish-language radio station WEVD. During those days, the weather reporter was called the vetter novi, loosely translated as the weather prophet. One winter day, he predicted beautiful sunshine, but soon, 18 inches of snow whitened the streets. My father commented, tongue firmly planted in cheek, “a novi sheker.”

I share all this because I haven’t skewered the New York Times for a while, but someone sent me this and I couldn’t resist. On Shabbos, October 11, 2026, page 1, the so-called paper of record ran the headline that “Peace Prize Goes to a Jurist Who Rebuked Israel.” Now, this is, of course, no chiddush and nothing to write about. However, I was struck by her name. Hence this analysis. Although her true cognomen is Navanethem Pillay, she is known perhaps aptly as “Navi.” She has, naturally, led a “U.N. commission that said Israel had committed genocide.” Also, naturally, this earned her a Nobel Peace Prize this past Friday and the adulation of the Times and other anti-Semites around the world. We, however, need only add the prefix sheker to her nickname so that it is now Navi Sheker.

This is not merely a play on words or playing with names. It has become a metaphor and definition for our times. As Rav Eliyohu Eliezer Dessler (Michtov M’Eliyohu 5:412) taught us, “When the Anshei Knesses Hagedolah nullified the evil inclination for avodah zarah (idolatry), they did not do so completely. As the Gemara (Yoma 69b) concludes, they just moved it into a different vessel. In other words, just as people irrationally believed in false gods and worshipped them, our age has created such obsessions as the various isms of our time. Some of these have just recently reared their ugly heads again in the form of socialism and communism. It seems that no amount of proof that these false prophets have failed wherever they came into power have halted the mad march of the lemmings to their altar of self-destruction.

These same academics, politicians and purveyors of falsehood have poisoned an entire generation of young people with the toxic education of decades of sheker. It is interesting to note that even sincere followers of President Obama were puzzled when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize seemingly moments after he was elected, when he had done absolutely nothing for world peace. Here, too, the ostensibly “respected international jurist” Navi was also an ad hoc judge on the so-called “International Court of Justice” that convicted Prime Minister Netanyahu of war crimes. This, in turn, led to the other anti-Semite, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, to issue his ill-fated threat to arrest the prime minister if he sets foot in New York. This, too, was sheker, but surely contributed to the horrific atmosphere of anti-Semitism in the city housing the largest number of Jews outside Eretz Yisroel.

To continue with our study of neviei hasheker in our time, we may point to the Binah L’itim (Drush 23), who says that the posuk of “Hashem is not a man that He should be deceitful, not a son of man that He should relent” (Bamidbar 23:19) is a harbinger of the many charlatans in our and world history. He explains that some of them, such as Paroh and Chirom, made believe that they were divine, while others just spewed illusions and treachery. Today, the now rapidly crumbling academic world is the source of the new prophesies and pseudo religions that began with belief in evolution, ushering in societies unanchored in any religion at all. It is ironic and horribly dangerous that the once-seemingly great citadels of academia have been bought up by an odd cabal of atheists and radical Moslems, resulting in something akin to the fall of Rome millennia ago. Interestingly, the true novi Yechezkel long ago railed against these imposters when he thundered, “Woe unto the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and things they have not seen” (13:3).

So, what is the antidote to this plague of false prophesy? The Gerrer Rebbe, the Pnei Menachem, quoted his father, the Imrei Emes, with an amazing answer. The great pre-war Gerrer Rebbe contrasted two pesukim. In Parshas Eikev, the Torah states, “Hashem, your G-d, you shall fear, Him you shall serve, to Him shall you cleave and in His name you shall swear” (Devorim 10:20). Here all these mandates are stated in the singular. However, later, in Parshas Re’eh (13:5), this same mitzvah is presented in the plural. Why this apparent discrepancy? The rebbe answers that “in essence, each and every individual can come to the proper conclusions about Hashem himself. However, Parshas Re’eh comes after the warning about the novi sheker. In generations when there has been the infection of the false prophets, only the power of the tzibbur, the public, can overcome the brainwashing and lies of the false prophets” (Sefer Nafshi Taarog 2:258). The Imrei Emes spoke these powerful words after making a siyum on Yerushalmi Kiddushin and endorsing the work of Agudas Yisroel.

In short, we must strengthen our own Yeshivos, Kollelim, Bais Yaakovs and Botei Medrash with shiurim and teachings which are an antidote to the modern fabrications which are thrown at us. Let us imagine that these exhortations were spoken before the Internet, AI and all the other forces of evil our children must now deal with on a daily basis. This is a call from the past that very much resonates with our time for learning more, plumbing ever deeper into the penimiyus of our Torah to counteract the mendacity of our time.

On the Litvishe side, Rav Elchonon Wasserman, too, thundered about the fact that “while we no longer have true nevi’im of our own, there is no lack of neviei hasheker in the world” (Kovetz Maamorim, old edition, page 125). He went on to quote that when the true nevi’im were commanded to “inform Yerushalayim of her abominations” (Yechezkel 16:2), the neviei hasheker responded by calling us names and vilifying us (see Melochim I 18:17 and Ohr Elchonon 2:133).

A fascinating lesson about these dangers was taught to us by Rav Yechezkel Levenstein (Ohr Yechezkel, Letters, page 134). He notes that even in ancient times, it was sometimes difficult to distinguish between the true nevi’im and the false ones because one could discover some truth in the midst of the sheker and even some seeming inconsistencies in the authentic leadership. This applies so incredibly in our time to those who have become enamored of AI. They ask it shailos, consult with it on crucial life decisions and sometimes take solace from it in times of distress. Yet, at the same time, AI has misled, caused tragedies in families, and driven people apart when they could have received positive human help. On at least one level, these, too, are the neviei hasheker of our time. We must not think for a moment that because they were found to be correct once or twice that they carry the truth. They are not only machines and are not human, but are actually subhuman in their inability to feel and perceive the world of the heart, soul and holiness within us.

May Hashem send us the wisdom and the courage to make the proper havdolah in our lives and to seek guidance only from our precious gedolim, who have never failed or lied to us. Just remember from Miss Navi how far a novi sheker can lead us, and we will, hopefully never go astray.