LashonLearning

Created by brandeis students: Adam Gould, Adam Heany, Oneg Kaufman-Grob, and Rafi Hamermesh

LashonLearning is a comprehensive Hebrew vocabulary learning platform that integrates with Sefaria's extensive Jewish text database. The system combines a Chrome browser extension, a React web application, and a Cloudflare Workers proxy to create an intelligent flashcard system powered by real Biblical and Rabbinic text examples.

Overview

LashonLearning helps Hebrew learners build vocabulary by:

• Capturing Hebrew words directly from Sefaria.org while reading
• Fetching dictionary definitions from Sefaria's lexicon
• Finding contextual examples from across Jewish texts
• Creating interactive flashcards with authentic usage examples
• Providing a modern, responsive web interface for studying

Chrome Extension

A lightweight Chrome extension that integrates with Sefaria.org to capture Hebrew vocabulary.

Features

• Context Menu Integration: Right-click any Hebrew word to add it to your flashcard list
• Smart Hebrew Processing: Automatically strips cantillation marks (taamim) while preserving vowel points (nekudot)
• Duplicate Detection: Prevents the same word from being added multiple times
• Local Storage: Persists word lists in Chrome's local storage
• External Messaging API: Allows the web app to sync word lists via Chrome's messaging system
• Visual Popup Interface: Browse and manage saved words with an elegant Hebrew-optimized UI

Technical Details

• Manifest Version: 3 (latest Chrome extension standard)
• Permissions: storage, contextMenus
• External Connectivity: Configured for localhost and akohlgould.github.io
• Extension ID: nlcebalffaibfcnohbknmgpkdoedliej

Pages

• / - FlashcardsPage: Interactive flashcard study interface
• /wordlist - WordlistPage: Comprehensive word list with management tools

Development Scripts

cd react/lashon-learning

# Start development server (localhost:5173)
npm run dev

# Build for production
npm run build

# Preview production build
npm run preview

# Deploy to GitHub Pages
npm run deploy

# Lint code
npm run lint

Deployment

The app is deployed to GitHub Pages at: https://akohlgould.github.io/LashonLearning/

Configuration

• Allowed Origins:
  • https://akohlgould.github.io (production)
  • http://localhost:5173 (Vite dev server)
  • http://localhost:4173 (Vite preview)
• Allowed Methods: GET, POST, OPTIONS
• Allowed Headers: Content-Type, Accept
• Deployment URL: https://sefaria-proxy.adamhsefaria.workers.dev

Technical Details

• Runtime: Cloudflare Workers (V8 isolates)
• Compatibility Date: 2024-01-01
• Path Handling: Only proxies /api/* paths
• Error Handling: Returns 404 for non-API requests

Search Algorithm

The verse search uses Sefaria's naive lemmatizer field with:

• Query Type: Text search
• Field: naive_lemmatizer (matches word roots)
• Size: 100 results
• Slop: 10 (allows word variations)
• Sort: By page rank (most significant texts first)

Environment Detection

Automatically switches between:

• Local Development: Direct API calls to localhost (assumes local Sefaria instance or dev proxy)
• Production: Routes through Cloudflare Workers proxy

Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/akohlgould/LashonLearning.git
cd LashonLearning

2. Install Dependencies

# Install root dependencies
npm install

# Install React app dependencies
cd react/lashon-learning
npm install
cd ../..

# Install proxy dependencies
cd sefaria-proxy
npm install
cd ..

3. Load Chrome Extension

1. Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://extensions/
2. Enable "Developer mode" (top-right toggle)
3. Click "Load unpacked"
4. Select the SefariaVocabExtension/ directory
5. Note the Extension ID (should match nlcebalffaibfcnohbknmgpkdoedliej or update in App.jsx)

4. Deploy Cloudflare Proxy

cd sefaria-proxy
npx wrangler login
npm run deploy

Update the PROXY_BASE URL in scripts/getdata.js with your deployed Worker URL.

5. Start Development Server

cd react/lashon-learning
npm run dev

Visit http://localhost:5173

🔧 Configuration

Extension Configuration

Edit SefariaVocabExtension/manifest.json:

• Add/remove allowed origins in externally_connectable.matches
• Modify permissions in permissions array

Proxy Configuration

Edit sefaria-proxy/src/index.js:

• Update ALLOWED_ORIGINS array for new domains
• Modify CORS headers as needed

App Configuration

Edit react/lashon-learning/src/App.jsx:

• Update EXTENSION_ID if you load the extension unpacked
• Modify sync behavior in syncFromExtension()

Development

Project Technologies

• Frontend: React 19, Vite, TailwindCSS, React Router
• Backend/API: Cloudflare Workers, Sefaria REST API
• Browser: Chrome Extension Manifest V3
• Build Tools: Vite, ESLint, Wrangler
• Deployment: GitHub Pages, Cloudflare Workers

API Reference

Sefaria API Endpoints Used

Word Definition

GET /api/words/{word}
Returns: Array of lexicon entries with definitions, roots, and morphology

Text Search

POST /api/search-wrapper
Body: {
  "query": "word",
  "type": "text",
  "field": "naive_lemmatizer",
  "size": 100,
  "slop": 10,
  "sort_method": "score",
  "sort_fields": ["pagesheetrank"]
}
Returns: Search results with highlighted matches

For questions or issues, please open an issue on GitHub.