get_commentaries
Retrieve a list of commentary references for a specific Jewish text, enabling deeper study and analysis of traditional texts in the Sefaria Library.
Instructions
get a list of references of commentaries for a jewish text
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| reference | Yes | the reference of the jewish text, e.g. 'שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן א' or 'Genesis 1:1' |
Implementation Reference
- The primary handler function that implements the tool logic: fetches related links from Sefaria API for the given reference and filters those of type 'commentary', returning a list of Hebrew commentary references.
async def get_commentaries(parasha_ref)-> list[str]: """ Retrieves and filters commentaries on the given verse. """ data = get_request_json_data("api/related/", parasha_ref) commentaries = [] if data and "links" in data: for linked_text in data["links"]: if linked_text.get('type') == 'commentary': commentaries.append(linked_text.get('sourceHeRef')) return commentaries - src/sefaria_jewish_library/server.py:50-63 (registration)Registers the 'get_commentaries' tool with the MCP server in the list_tools handler, specifying its description and input schema.
types.Tool( name="get_commentaries", description="get a list of references of commentaries for a jewish text", inputSchema={ "type": "object", "properties": { "reference": { "type": "string", "description": "the reference of the jewish text, e.g. 'שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן א' or 'Genesis 1:1'", }, }, "required": ["reference"], }, ), - Defines the JSON schema for the tool's input: requires a 'reference' string parameter.
inputSchema={ "type": "object", "properties": { "reference": { "type": "string", "description": "the reference of the jewish text, e.g. 'שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן א' or 'Genesis 1:1'", }, }, "required": ["reference"], }, - Tool dispatch handler in the call_tool function that extracts the reference argument, calls the get_commentaries function, and formats the result as text content or handles errors.
elif name == "get_commentaries": try: reference = arguments.get("reference") if not reference: raise ValueError("Missing parameter") logger.debug(f"handle_get_commentaries: {reference}") commentaries = await get_commentaries(reference) return [types.TextContent( type="text", text="\n".join(commentaries) )] except Exception as err: logger.error(f"retreive commentaries error: {err}", exc_info=True) return [types.TextContent( type="text", text=f"Error: {str(err)}" )] - Utility helper function used by get_commentaries to perform API requests to Sefaria and retrieve JSON data.
def get_request_json_data(endpoint, ref=None, param=None): """ Helper function to make GET requests to the Sefaria API and parse the JSON response. """ url = f"{SEFARIA_API_BASE_URL}/{endpoint}" if ref: url += f"{ref}" if param: url += f"?{param}" try: response = requests.get(url) response.raise_for_status() # Raise an exception for bad status codes data = response.json() return data except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e: print(f"Error during API request: {e}") return None