Moses de León ( 1240 – 1305), known in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

as Moshe ben Shem-Tov (), was a Spanish

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

and Kabbalist who first publicized the

Zohar The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...

. Modern scholars believe the Zohar is his own work, despite his claim to have copied it out of an ancient manuscript by Shimon ben Yochai. His other works include ''Sefer ha-Rimon'', written in Hebrew, and hundreds of pseudepigraphic responsa, commentaries, and Kabbalistic tracts which he falsely attributed to earlier authorities.

Life

Moses de León was born in León,

Kingdom of León The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when the Christian princes of Kingdom of Asturias, Asturias along the Bay of Biscay, northern coast of the peninsula ...

in modern-day Spain, then united with the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingd ...

.''The Jewish Encyclopedia''
/ref> He might have been born in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

and his surname, then, comes from his father, Shem-Tov de León. He spent 30 years in Guadalajara and

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

before moving to

Ávila Ávila ( , , ) is a Spanish city located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m a ...

, where he spent the rest of his life. Moses de León died at

Arévalo Arévalo is a municipality in Spain, it is situated in the province of Ávila and is part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. The name came from the Celtic word ''arevalon'', meaning "place near the wall." Regional importance The ...

in 1305 while returning to his home.

References

Resources

*Kohler, Kaufmann et al.
"Leon, Moses (Ben Shem-Tob) de."
''

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

''. Funk and Wagnalls, 1901–1906, citing: :*''Ahimaaz Chronicle,'' ed. London, pp. 95 et seq.; :*

Adolf Jellinek Adolf Jellinek ( ''Aharon Jelinek''; 26 June 1821 in Drslavice, Moravia – 28 December 1893 in Vienna) was an Austrian rabbi and scholar. After filling clerical posts in Leipzig (1845–1856), he became a preacher at the Leopoldstädter Temp ...

, ''Moses b. Schem-Tob de Leon und Seine Verhältniss zum Sohar,'' Leipsic, 1851; :* Grätz, ''Gesch.'' vii. 231 et seq.; :*

Abraham Geiger Abraham Geiger (Hebrew: ''ʼAvrāhām Gayger''; 24 May 181023 October 1874) was a German rabbi and scholar who is considered the founding father of Reform Judaism and the academic field of Quranic studies. Emphasizing Judaism's constant developm ...

, ''Das Judenthum und Seine Geschichte,'' iii. 75 et seq., Breslau, 1871; :* Giovanni Bernardo De Rossi and C. H. Hamberger, ''Hist. Wörterb. ''p. 177; :* Moritz Steinschneider, ''Cat. Bodl. cols. 1852'' ''et seq.''; :*''idem, Hebr. Bibl.'' x. 156 et seq. :* Avishai Bar Asher, ''R. Moses de León - Sefer Mishkan ha-Edut'', Los Angeles: Cherub Press, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Moses De 1250 births 1305 deaths People from León, Spain Kabbalists 13th-century people from the Kingdom of León 13th-century Castilian rabbis 14th-century Castilian rabbis Forgery controversies Literary forgeries