Literally, to tell. The Maggid was a folk preacher who used biblical and Midrashic quotations, parables, and stories to preach morality and repentance. Traveling from town to town, the Maggid attracted great masses with his chanting oratory. Although he was not very scholarly, his influence was more widespread than that of scholars and rabbis.

Outstanding among maggidim were Jacob Kranz, the Maggid of Dubno, in the 18th century; Moses Isaac ben Noah Darshan, the Kelmer Maggid; and Rabbi Jacob Joseph of New York, originally the Maggid of Vilna, in the 19th century.