Fun Fact: The Zohar (founding book of Kabbalah) may have started as a hoax! (P.S. the word “cabal” comes from “Kabbalah”).
Moses De Leon created a “legend” for his original work. He said he translated it from an Aramaic manuscript from the 2nd century. Immediately after his death, a wealthy Rabbi visited Moses’ impoverished widow, offering riches for the original aramaic manuscript and she confessed there wasnt one!
(see also: “Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica: The World’s largest library of Ancient and Rare Esoteric books.”)