Anybody who has wondered what it would be like to chat with a historical Jewish figure now has a chance to do just that, thanks to AI. 

Yale University Press’ Jewish Lives book series, which has published 86 biographies since 2011, launched Ask Jewish Lives, an interactive AI-powered chat, in June. Nine legendary individuals are profiled in the series, including Baruch Spinoza, Sigmund Freud, Theodor Herzl and Hadassah’s founder, Henrietta Szold.

Unlike AI platforms such as Chat GPT or Claude, Ask Jewish Lives delivers answers that rely on a closed loop—the biographies themselves—rather than from anywhere on the internet. The responses are also footnoted.

The interface is simple: Go to the Ask Jewish Lives website, select the person you want to talk to and type something into the dialogue box. The person will “respond” to your question in the chat box, using their own voice.

There are several reasons Yale University Press developed Ask Jewish Lives, according to Rebecca Keys, managing director of the Jewish Lives series. Motivating people to read the biographies is one goal, as is exploring Jewish history and culture. “If you disagree with Emma Goldman,” the turn-of-the century Jewish anarchist, Keys said, “chat with her persona and maybe you’ll learn something new.” 

Using AI as an educational tool is a third goal. Key’s husband, Yonatan Miller, a professor of Jewish studies at the University of Connecticut, is using Ask Jewish Lives in his introductory Jewish studies class this fall.

“Instead of giving a lecture about the rise of rabbinic Judaism,” Miller said, “I can invite Rabbi Akiva into the classroom.”

Authors of the biographies are supportive of the project, Keys said.

Francine Klagsbrun, who wrote Henrietta Szold: Hadassah and the Zionist Dream, said it helped her overcome some of her skepticism about AI.

“When I see a positive use of AI, especially a positive educational use, it makes me happy,” she said.

Ask Jewish Lives is also a lot of fun. Questioning Albert Einstein about who will win the 2026 World Series yielded a diplomatic non-answer: “To look into the future for the outcome of a sporting match is a quest better suited for a fortune teller than a physicist.”

Peter Ephross, the editor of Jewish Major Leaguers in Their Own Words: Oral Histories of 23 Players, is a longtime writer about the Jewish world.