Moses de León
Moses de León, known in Hebrew as Moshe ben Shem-Tov, was a Spanish rabbi and Kabbalist who is considered the composer or redactor of the Zohar. It is a matter of controversy if the Zohar is his own work, or if he took traditions going back to Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai and committed them to writing. His other works include Sefer ha-Rimon, written in Hebrew.Life
He was born in León, Spain, Kingdom of León, then united with the Crown of Castile. 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. He died at Arévalo in 1305 while returning to his home.Resources
