The Magic Barrel

The Magic Barrel Summary | Detailed Summary

On a cold day in February, Leo Finkle, a 27-year-old rabbinical student at New York's Yeshivah University, is sitting in his small apartment regretting the fact that he decided to call in a matchmaker to help him find a wife. However, Finkle knows that he needs to find a wife if he wants to get an appointment as a rabbi after he graduates, so he patiently waits for Pinye Salzman to arrive and, hopefully, arrange a suitable match for him.

Pinye Salzman arrives and cuts a not displeasing figure with his dignified air and wizened looks. However, he is also missing teeth and he smells distinctly of fish, which he eats constantly, so he is not entirely pleasant either. However, more importantly, he carries a binder holding pictures of eligible Jewish women with him, and Finkle hopes that it holds a woman for him.

To explain himself, Finkle tells Salzman that he is a student too wrapped up in his studies to have a proper social life and, but for his parents in Cleveland, he is quite alone. Thus, with few female prospects in his life, he has called in a marriage broker, which Finkle considers a very honored position in the Jewish community, to make "practical the necessary without hindering the joy." (2) Salzman, of course, is quite pleased with the kind words that Finkle offers him, and Salzman opens his binder to offer pictures and descriptions of some women that are looking to marry.

Unfortunately, Finkle looks at the pictures, hears Salzman's descriptions and decides that none of these women is for him. One is too old, one is a widow, another's father is a stomach specialist and none of them really entices Finkle. Of course, Salzman argues and tells him that these are all fine women who would make him very happy, but Finkle disapproves of all of them and, in frustration, sends Salzman away.

The next day, Leo Finkle is pondering his decision not to see any of the women that Salzman offered and wonders whether he made the right choice. However, Salzman appears at his door that very same night and says that Lily Hirschorn, a 32-year-old woman that he mentioned the previous day, is actually only 29 and, therefore, not too old for Finkle. Of course, Finkle is immediately suspicious and suspects that Salzman is lying in order to make him meet the woman, but Finkle decides to pay her a visit anyway.

Leo Finkle and Lily Hirschorn's evening together is unfortuntely, a disaster. Not only is Lily at least 35 years old, but also she seems to have an idea that Finkle is some sort of eminently holy man who can see into the mind of God. Though Finkle is comfortable with her at first, Lily turns the conversation to Finkle's studies with a clear expectation that he will help her see into his understanding of divine truths. Obviously, Salzman built up Finkle as some sort of mystic or prophet, and Finkle cannot provide her with any of the answers that she is looking for. In fact, when Lily asks Finkle why he learned to love God, Finkle hears himself say, "I came to God not because I loved Him, but because I did not." (12) This is not the answer Lily is looking for and the evening ends in disappointment for both of them.

The next day, Leo Finkle is furious at Salzman for lying to both him and Lily. However, the more Finkle thinks about it, the more he realizes that he is furious at himself. After all, he should be able to meet women on his own, but his complete inability to have a real social life and his total ineptitude with women has forced him to speak with a marriage broker in order to find a wife. However, the thing that really angers Finkle is the realization that he is studying to be a rabbi because he does not love God, which he only came to understand when he was speaking with Lily Hirschorn. Furthermore, Finkle has never loved anybody, except for his parents, and no one has ever loved him. Thus, he finds himself unloved, loveless and very, very lonely.

Over the next two weeks, Finkle neglects his studies and neglects to take care of his self as he begins to do some serious soul-searching. Though he considers dropping out of the Yeshivah, he does finally determine that he should continue his studies and finish school, as planned. However, he still needs to find a wife, but he is not going to use Salzman to do it for him.

The night that Finkle decides he does not needs Salzman, the matchmaker himself appears with a new batch of photographs. Of course, Salzman first asks about Lily, but Finkle accuses Salzman of lying to both him and Lily. Salzman apologizes profusely and offers explanations, but Finkle tells him that he is in search of love, not a convenient marriage partner. Of course, Salzman offers him an envelope of photos to look at, but Finkle wants nothing to do with it. However, before Finkle can give the photos back to him, Salzman rushes out the door.

The month turns to March and Finkle makes plans to have a real social life so that he can fall in love. However, it never materializes and Finkle realizes that he is simply not in a situation that allows him to go out and meet women. After all, he is a poor university student who studies diligently and he has neither the time nor the funds to spend on evenings out. Thus, as he comes to grips with his plight, he opens Salzman's envelope of pictures.

As Finkle looks through the pictures, he realizes that there is nobody in there who interests him. They are all tired old women who are past their prime, just like Lily Hirschorn, and Finkle, frustrated, puts the pictures back into the envelope. However, as Finkle puts the pictures back in, a small picture that he had not noticed falls out.

When Finkle sees the picture, he realizes that he has found the woman he is looking for. She is young, beautiful and alive in a way that he cannot describe. Though she looks familiar, Finkle knows that he would have remembered meeting such a woman and, therefore, they must have never met. However, he knows that he must meet this mystery woman and he immediately runs out to talk to Salzman.

When Finkle arrives at Salzman's home, his wife informs Finkle that her husband is out. However, Finkle leaves a message telling Salzman to come over. Then, surprisingly, Salzman is waiting at Finkle's door when he returns.

After Finkle provides Salzman with tea and a sardine sandwich, he shows Salzman the picture and says that he wants to meet that particular woman. However, Salzman is shocked and refuses, though he does not explain why at first. When Finkle presses Salzman to let him meet the woman that Salzman says that the picture is of his daughter Stella, and she is dead to him and she should rot in hell.

After Salzman leaves, Finkle is so shocked by the revelation that he hides in bed, trying to get Stella out of his mind. Unfortunately, he cannot. For days, he is tortured with longing for her, though he tries to beat his feelings down and forget the image of the woman he loves. However, instead of destroying his feelings, he decides that it is up to him to convert her to goodness and bring her back to God. Thus, when Finkle meets Salzman in a cafeteria in the Bronx, he convinces Salzman to arrange a meeting and let him try to help Stella.

Finally, the night arrives that Finkle is to finally meet Stella. They are to meet on a corner under a streetlight and Finkle brings a bouquet of flowers for her. Then, when Finkle sees her in person, he runs toward this shy, yet confident woman that he has loved since he saw her picture. However, just around the corner, Pinye Salzman chants prayers for the dead.