MALINOWSKI, JOSEPH BEN MORDECAI

MALINOWSKI, JOSEPH BEN MORDECAI (Troki ; d. after 1625), Karaite scholar. Joseph was the pupil of Isaac b. Abraham *Troki, and was the leading Karaite scholar in Poland-Lithuania after his teacher's demise in 1594. Malinovski completed Isaac's Ḥizzuk Emunah after Isaac's death. According to his correspondence (Mann, Texts, 1196–8), in 1624 he was a spiritual leader of Troki. As such he endeavored to organize the communal affairs of the Birzhe Karaite community. He established a number of ritual customs for Polish-Lithuanian communities, which were published in Karaite Sidduri (Vilna 1890), 456–64. Some of them were close to Rabbanite practice. In 1624 he moved to Lutsk, evidently to become a spiritual leader of the community.

He had extensive knowledge of both Karaite and rabbinic scholarship. He wrote a book Sefer Minhagim (ios A 208, jnul mic. 52984), concerning prayer, reading the Torah, etc. *Manasseh Ben Israel's press printed his composition Ha-Elef Lekha (Amsterdam, 1643), a long mystical liturgical poem. Simhah Isaak *Luzki wrote his commentary Kevod Elohim on it and they were published together (Kevod Elohim, Y. Algamil ed., Ramla 2000). His Kiẓẓur Inyan Sheḥitah on the ritual slaughter of animals was printed together with Mordecai b. Nissan's Dod Mordekhai (Vienna, 1830). Joseph died in Lutsk. He composed several liturgical poems, some of which had been included in the Karaite Siddur.

bibliography:

A. Gottlover, Biqoret le-toldot a-Karaim (1865), 178–9; Mann, Texts, 2 (1935), index, 1557.

[Leon Nemoy]