Darshan (Judaism)

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A darshan ({{Langx|he|דַּרְשָׁן}}) or baal darshan ({{Langx|he|בַּעַל־דַּרְשָׁן}}) is a Jewish scriptural interpreter. Since the Middle Ages, it has referred to a professional sermonizer more broadly.{{cite EJ|title=Darshan|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/darshan}}{{cite encyclopedia|title=Preachers and Preaching|first=Zeev|last=Gries|translator-first= Jeffrey|translator-last=Green|url=https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Preachers_and_Preaching|encyclopedia=YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe|editor-first=Gershon|editor-last=Hundert|editor-link=Gershon Hundert|location=New Haven|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2008}} The title was given to Abtalion and Shemaiah in the 1st century BCE.[https://www.sefaria.org.il/Pesachim.70b.5?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en Pesachim 70b].

Since the 1990s, some branches of Liberal Judaism have ordained lay leaders and chaplains as darshanim.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} Today, the term is sometimes used for whoever delivers a sermon at a service, whether they are ordained or a layperson.