Sephardic Figures

Moses de León occupies a decisive, though still debated, place in the history of Jewish mysticism. Active in Castile, he wrote Hebrew kabbalistic works and circulated Aramaic texts that he attributed to the second-century sage Simeon bar Yoḥai. These writings formed the principal body of the Zohar, which became the most influential work of medieval Kabbalah. Modern scholarship generally regards de León as a principal author or redactor, while also recognizing multiple literary layers, earlier sources, and possible collaborators. The Zohar recast biblical interpretation through a symbolic account of the divine realm, commandments, gender, exile, and redemption. De León’s work profoundly altered Sephardic spirituality and later Jewish ritual, theology, messianism, and devotional practice across both Sephardic and Ashkenazic communities.