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Quick Guide: How to Use Sefaria's Library Assistant

Team Sefaria
Team Sefaria
  • Updated

Sefaria's Library Assistant is an AI-powered chatbot designed to help users discover and explore the texts in the Sefaria Library.

Built upon Claude technology, the Library Assistant is intended to help users utilize the texts in the Sefaria Library by: 

  • Locating relevant sources based on a user’s prompt
  • Offering opportunities for further inquiry by surfacing relevant commentaries and related texts
  • Providing ad-hoc translations of not-yet-translated texts in the Library

Please note: 

  • The Library Assistant is only available in the Sefaria Library when viewed in a web browser.
  • The Library Assistant is not available when using the Sefaria Library App.
  • To use the Library Assistant, you must be logged into your Sefaria Account.

To use the Library Assistant:

  1. Navigate to the Sefaria Library homepage. The Library Assistant will automatically appear in a panel on the right-hand side of the screen. 
  2. To begin, type a question into the chat.
  3. Press Enter (on a PC) or Return (on a Mac).

To provide feedback on the Library Assistant's performance: 

  1. Click the thumbs-up or thumbs-down buttons to indicate whether or not the answer provided was satisfactory.
  2. Type additional comments into the space provided. 
  3. Click Submit. 

Please note: Leaving feedback on the Library Assistant’s performance is optional. If you don’t wish to write comments, click Skip.

Suggested types of questions include:

  • What is this week’s parashah?
  • What do Jewish texts say about gratitude? 
  • Can you help me find commentaries on this source?
  • Can you translate this text into English?
  • Can you explain the acronyms used in this text?

Library Assistant Menu Options

The Library Assistant menu is located at the top of the chat panel. It has four buttons:

Icon

Action
rotate-ccw-clock.svg

View your chat history
expand.svg

Maximize the chatbox and attach it to the sidebar
ellipsis-vertical.svg

More options:

Start a new chat

Maximize the chatbox and attach it to the sidebar

Give feedback

Help

Opt out in settings
minus.svg

Close the chatbox

Please note: When the chatbox is maximized, the Library Assistant menu will display an icon that, when clicked, minimizes the chatbox and removes it from the sidebar. 

Accessing Your Chat History

The Library Assistant saves your previous chats for future reference. At any time, you can reopen a chat and continue the conversation. Additional questions can be added to previous chats and the Library Assistant will remember the context.

  • Click on the chat history icon to open a list of all of your previous chats.
  • Hover over a chat to access the three vertical dots menu where you can:
    • Rename a chat
    • Delete a chat
  • To restart an old chat, click on the name of the chat. The chat will reopen in the chat box. Scroll to the bottom and type your next question into the chat box.
  • To search within all chats, click the search icon in the top left corner of the chat box. Type a search keyword into the search bar and press enter.

To turn off the Library Assistant:

  1. Navigate to the Sefaria Library homepage, found at www.sefaria.org, and log in to your Sefaria Account.
  2. Click on the profile button, found in the top right corner of your screen, to open a dropdown menu.
  3. Click on Account Settings, the first option in the dropdown menu.
  4. Click Off under Library Assistant.
  5. Click Save at the bottom of the page.

Please note: If you have turned the Library Assistant off, you can turn it back on by following the steps above and clicking ON under Library Assistant.