Malkiel (also spelled Malchiel) Ashkenazi (Hebrew: מלכיאל אשכנזי) was a Sephardic rabbi and leader of the Jewish community in Hebron in 1540.

It was this community that Rabbi Ashkenazi led when he purchased a walled compound in Hebron in 1540 and founded the Avraham Avinu Synagogue which became a center of study for Kabbalah.

[3] He was a respected authority in Jewish law, and his decisions on religious matters were widely accepted, also outside of Hebron.

[4][5] He had an extensive library and helped edit the works of Rabbi Chaim Vital.

[6] Rabbi Ashkenazi was buried in the ancient Jewish cemetery in Hebron.