Moses de León

Moses de León
משה בן שם-טוב די-ליאון
Statue of Moses in Guadalajara, Spain (Luis Sanguino)
Personal life
Bornc. 1240
Died1305
Known forKabbalah
Religious life
ReligionJudaism

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.