Moses de León

Spanish rabbi and Kabbalist (c. 1240 – 1305)

Moses de León

משה בן שם-טוב די-ליאון

Statue of Moses in Guadalajara, Spain (Luis Sanguino)

Personal life
Born| c. 1240

León, Kingdom of León

Died| 1305

Arévalo, Kingdom of León

Known for| Kabbalah
Religious life
Religion| Judaism
Title page of first edition of the Zohar, Mantua, 1558. Library of Congress.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Zohar and Later Mysticism

Moses de León (c. 1240 - 1305), known in Hebrew as Moshe ben Shem-Tov (משה בן שם-טוב די-ליאון), was a Spanish rabbi and Kabbalist who first publicized the Zohar. 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.[1]

## Life

[edit]

Moses de León was born in León, Kingdom of León in modern-day Spain, then united with the Crown of Castile.[2] He might have been born in Guadalajara and his surname, then, comes from his father, Shem-Tov de León. He spent 30 years in Guadalajara and Valladolid before moving to Ávila, where he spent the rest of his life. Moses de León died at Arévalo in 1305 while returning to his home.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ See Elliot R. Wolfson, “Hai Gaon’s Letter and Commentary on Aleynu: Further Evidence of Moses de León’s Pseudepigraphic Activity,” JQR 81 (1991), pp. 365-409 and the sources he cites; also the sources cited by Shmuel Glick, Eshnav le-Sifrut ha-Teshuvot (New York, 2012), pp. 237-238.
2. ^ The Jewish Encyclopedia

## Resources

[edit]

* Kohler, Kaufmann et al., "Leon, Moses (Ben Shem-Tob) de." Jewish Encyclopedia. Funk and Wagnalls, 1901–1906, citing:

* Ahimaaz Chronicle, ed. London, pp. 95 et seq.;
* Adolf Jellinek, Moses b. Schem-Tob de Leon und Seine Verhältniss zum Sohar, Leipsic, 1851;
* Grätz, Gesch. vii. 231 et seq.;
* Abraham Geiger, 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

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Australia
* Czech Republic
* Spain
* Netherlands
* Sweden
* Israel

People|

* Trove
* DDB

Other|

* IdRef
* SNAC

*[c.]: circa