Motke Explained

Motke should not be confused with Moltke.

Motke, Mordkhe, or Mordka are Jewish given names, diminutives of Mordechai. Notable people referred to as Motke include:

• Motke Rosenthal, or Márk Rózsavölgyi (1787-1848), Jewish Hungarian composer and violinist
• Mordechai (Motke) Maklef (1920–1978), Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces
• Motke Chabad (19th century), Jewish Lithuanian jester from Vilnius
• Mordka Mendel Grossman (1913-1945), photographer and worker in the Statistical Department of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto
• Mordka was the birth given name of Mark Zamenhof (1837-1907)
• Mordkhe Schaechter (1927-2007), Yiddish linguist
• Mordkhe Veynger (1890–1929), Soviet-Jewish linguist

Fictional characters

• Motke the Thief, a 1913 novel by Sholem Ash
• Motke the Angel of Death, a 1926 novel by Ilya Selvinsky