[1] Rosenberg grew up in a Conservative Jewish non-observant family in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where his parents operated a beauty supply company.
[1][2] According to his family's history, his great-great-grandfather was a former chasid of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, the third Chabad rebbe.
[2][3] He became a baal teshuva and joined the Chabad movement as an ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jew dedicated to study, community and rigorous observance, abandoning his former ambitions, one of which was to become a songwriter.
[3] Rosenberg's writing career began with his personal blog, FailedMessiah, referring to the belief among Lubavitcher Hassidim that their late rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, is the messiah.
He has broken news about sexual misconduct, smear campaigns and dubious business practices conducted by or on behalf of stringently religious Jews.” Chabad-Lubavitch leaders claim that he has exaggerated the degree of messianism in the movement and that he is driven to settle scores.