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Moses de León

c.1240–1305 · Iberia (Castile)Iberian
Moses de León

Description

Moses de León, known in Hebrew as Moshe ben Shem-Tov, 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.

Facts

Bornc. 1240, León, Kingdom of León
Died1305, Arévalo, Kingdom of Castile
Known forKabbalah
ReligionJudaism

Life & work in brief

Summarised by section — one row per topic, for fast reading.

Work / contributionSignificance
LifeMoses de León was born in León, Kingdom of León in modern-day Spain, then united with the Crown of Castile.
PardesMoses de León was the first to advance the Kabbalistic theory of Biblical exegesis, as a Jewish adaptation of the fourfold method of Biblical exegesis from medieval Christianity.