A darshan () or baal darshan () is a Jewish scriptural interpreter. Since the Middle Ages, it has referred to a professional sermonizer more broadly. The title was given to Abtalion and Shemaiah in the 1st century BCE.Pesachim 70b.
Since the 1990s, some branches of non-Orthodox Judaism have ordained lay leaders and chaplains as darshanim.
See also Maggid Moshe ha-Darshan
References
Further reading
Marc Saperstein (1992), Jewish Preaching, 1200-1800: An Anthology, yale university press. Marc Saperstein (2014), Your Voice Like a Ram's Horn: Themes and Texts in Traditional Jewish Preaching, Hebrew Union College Press.