Many of the individual stories collected in The Magic Barrel depict the search for hope and meaning within the bleak enclosures of poor urban settings. The title story focuses on the unlikely relationship of Leo Finkle, an unmarried rabbinical student, and Pinye Salzman, a colorful marriage broker. Finkle has spent most of life with his nose buried in books and therefore isn't well-educated in life itself. However, Finkle has a greater interest – the art of romance. He engages the services of Salzman, who shows Finkle a number of potential brides from his "magic barrel" but with each picture Finkle grows more uninterested. After Salzman convinces him to meet Lily Hirschorn, Finkle realizes his life is truly empty and lacking the passion to love God or humanity. When Finkle discovers a picture of Salzman's daughter and sees her suffering, he sets out on a new mission to save her. Other well-known stories included in the collection are: "The Last Mohican", "Angel Levine", "The First Seven Years", and "The Mourners". This last story focuses on Kessler, the defiant old man in need of "social security" and Gruber, the belligerent landlord who doesn't want Kessler in the tenement anymore.
The 13 stories included in The Magic Barrel appear in the following sequence:
- "The First Seven Years"
- "The Mourners"
- "The Girl of My Dreams"
- "Angel Levine"
- "Behold the Key"
- "Take Pity"
- "The Prison"
- "The Lady of the Lake"
- "A Summer's Reading"
- "The Bill"
- "The Last Mohican"
- "The Loan"
- "The Magic Barrel"
