Sefaria Jewish Library
Provides access to Jewish texts from the Sefaria library. This server enables Large Language Models to retrieve and reference Jewish texts through a standardized interface.
What is Sefaria Jewish Library?
Sefaria Jewish Library is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to provides access to jewish texts from the sefaria library. this server enables large language models to retrieve and reference jewish texts through a standardized interface.
Provides access to Jewish texts from the Sefaria library. This server enables Large Language Models to retrieve and reference Jewish texts through a standardized interface.
This server falls under the Knowledge & Memory category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Provides access to Jewish texts from the Sefaria library. Th
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx sefaria-jewish-library-mcp-serverConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Sefaria Jewish Library
The Sefaria Jewish Library MCP Server connects AI assistants to Sefaria's comprehensive open-access library of Jewish texts via the Sefaria public API. It exposes four tools: retrieving a specific text by reference (Torah, Talmud, Mishnah, and more in Hebrew or English), fetching commentaries on a passage, full-text search across the library, and retrieving the current daily or weekly Jewish learning schedule (Daf Yomi, Parasha, Mishnah Yomit, and other cycles). Scholars, educators, and curious users use it to let LLMs cite and reason over authoritative Jewish religious and legal texts without copy-pasting source material.
Prerequisites
- Python 3.10 or higher installed
- uv installed for running the server (recommended): 'pip install uv'
- No API key required — the Sefaria API is publicly accessible
- Claude Desktop, Cline, or another MCP-compatible client
Clone the repository
Clone the mcp-sefaria-server repository to your local machine.
git clone https://github.com/Sivan22/mcp-sefaria-server.git
cd mcp-sefaria-serverInstall via Smithery (optional shortcut)
For Claude Desktop, Smithery can install and configure the server automatically in one command.
npx -y @smithery/cli install mcp-sefaria-server --client claudeConfigure your MCP client for manual installation
If not using Smithery, add the server to your claude_desktop_config.json manually. The server is launched with uv pointing at the cloned directory. The PYTHONIOENCODING env var ensures Hebrew and Unicode text renders correctly.
Restart your MCP client
After adding the config entry, restart Claude Desktop or your client to connect to the server.
Retrieve a text to verify the connection
Ask the AI to fetch a Jewish text by reference. Sefaria references can be in English (e.g., 'Genesis 1:1') or Hebrew (e.g., 'שמות פרק ב פסוק ג').
Sefaria Jewish Library Examples
Client configuration
Manual configuration for claude_desktop_config.json. Replace the directory path with the absolute path to your cloned repository.
{
"mcpServers": {
"sefaria_jewish_library": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"--directory",
"/absolute/path/to/mcp-sefaria-server",
"run",
"sefaria_jewish_library"
],
"env": {
"PYTHONIOENCODING": "utf-8"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Use these to exercise all four tools the server exposes.
- "Retrieve the text of Genesis 1:1 from Sefaria"
- "What does Rashi say about Exodus 2:3?"
- "Fetch commentaries on Mishnah Berakhot 1:1"
- "Search Sefaria for texts about hospitality (hachnasat orchim)"
- "What is today's Daf Yomi?"
- "What is the weekly Torah portion for this Shabbat?"Troubleshooting Sefaria Jewish Library
Hebrew text appears garbled or as question marks
Make sure PYTHONIOENCODING is set to 'utf-8' in the env block of your config. This is required for proper Unicode output on Windows and some Linux terminals.
get_text returns 'Text not found' for a valid reference
Sefaria references are case-sensitive and use specific formatting. Try the English format ('Genesis 1:1', 'Berakhot 2a') or browse sefaria.org to find the exact reference string the API expects.
Server fails to start with 'uv: command not found'
Install uv with 'pip install uv' or 'curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh', then restart your terminal so the PATH update takes effect before starting your MCP client.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sefaria Jewish Library
What is Sefaria Jewish Library?
Sefaria Jewish Library is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to jewish texts from the sefaria library. this server enables large language models to retrieve and reference jewish texts through a standardized interface. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Sefaria Jewish Library?
Follow the installation instructions on the Sefaria Jewish Library GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with Sefaria Jewish Library?
Sefaria Jewish Library works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Sefaria Jewish Library free to use?
Yes, Sefaria Jewish Library is open source and available under the MIT License license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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