Zohar

The Book of Radiance, a seminal text of Jewish esotericism focusing on the theoretical aspects of Cabbalah. The Zohar is a mystical commentary on the Torah, written in Aramaic (allegedly) by the second century Palestinian Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai. Rabbi Shimon escaped Roman persecution by hiding in a cave for 13 years, the story goes, studying the Torah with his son. During this period of isolation is said to have to written the Zohar.

The book is not mentioned in Jewish literature until the 13th century, when a Spanish Jew, Moshe de Leon, claimed to discover the text and subsequently published and distributed it. Some scholars believe de Leon himself wrote the Zohar, using the character of Shimon ben Yohai as a tactic to gain credence for his theories. Regardless of the author, the Zohar is considered to be an indisputably authoritative text on Cabbalah.