Text References (Citations)

Sefaria's infrastructure depends on the ability to unambiguously refer to specific segments of text in the repository. Text reference implementation is done in order to achieve the following goals:

• References should be human and machine-readable.
• References should be environment agnostic (i.e., they should not depend on database IDs).
• References should be flexible so as to accommodate human variation, such as alternate spellings.

The following are all valid refs:

• Bereishit
• Job 3
• Mishna Berakhot 4.2
• Sanhedrin 4b
• Ex. 12:2-8
• Song_of_Songs.2.4-3.3
• Berakhot.2a.10-13
• Rashi on Genesis 1:2:1
• M. Peah 3
• Rambam Laws of Repentance 2:1
• Masekhet Shabbat 7b:12-20
• Pirkei_Avot_2.1
• Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Preparatory Prayers, Modeh Ani

A valid ref consists of a title string, optionally followed by a sections string. A title string is any one of the known text titles or title variants. A section string lists sections of the text.

Section String Separators

Section Strings can be separated by any of the following characters:

A ranged text is indicated by use of a - hyphen character. The following are valid examples of ranged refs:

• Genesis 1:1-2
• Genesis 1:1-2:1
• Rashi on Genesis 1:1:3-2:3:1

Notes

• Talmud references use a special daf syntax, which allows for the presence of both a number and either 'a' or 'b' (e.g., Shabbat 31a or Pesachim 22b).
• Commentary text names inherit the structure (i.e., the depth and section names) of their base text and add an additional level called 'Comment'. For example, the ref Ramban on Genesis 4:5:2 refers to Ramban's second comment on the fifth verse of chapter four of the book of Genesis.
• Within a sections string, . , : are all interchangeable.
• The range separator ( "-" ) should appear either 0 or 1 times, and should never appear in the title string.
• Spaces may be replaced with _ for better display in URLs, but not by "-" because a hyphen represents a range separator.

Classes of References Not Yet Supported

• A reference whose location is defined by its target, such as שם or ibid. Please note that partial references can include להלן, לקמן, בסימן, and similar.
• References by Dibbur HaMatkhil
• References by chapter Name (i.e., Keitzad Mevarchim)
• References in the discursive flow of the text