Moses de León (c. 1240 – 1305), known in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

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 o ...

and Kabbalist who first publicized the

Zohar The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...

. Modern scholars believe the Zohar is his own work, despite his claim that he took traditions going back to

Shimon bar Yohai Shimon bar Yochai ( Zoharic Aramaic: שמעון בר יוחאי, ''Shim'on bar Yoḥai'') or Shimon ben Yochai (Mishnaic Hebrew: שמעון בן יוחאי, ''Shim'on ben Yoḥai''), also known by the acronym Rashbi, was a 2nd-century ''tannaiti ...

and committed them to writing. 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.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.

Life

He was born in León,

Kingdom of León The Kingdom of León; es, Reino de León; gl, Reino de León; pt, Reino de Leão; la, Regnum Legionense; mwl, Reino de Lhion was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when t ...

, 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 Castile and León upon the accessi ...

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

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...

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

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

before moving to

Ávila Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain 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 ab ...

, where he spent the rest of his life. He died at Arévalo 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 th ...

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

Adolf Jellinek Adolf Jellinek ( he, אהרן ילינק ''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 t ...

, ''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, considered the founding father of Reform Judaism. Emphasizing Judaism's constant development along history and universalist traits, Gei ...

, ''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 Moritz Steinschneider (30 March 1816, Prostějov, Moravia, Austrian Empire – 24 January 1907, Berlin) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider ( 1782; ...

, ''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