: The tragic story of a talented cantor who married an unloved woman.

In the Cold Synagogue of Mazepovka, the cantor Shmulik Yampolsky, who has a beautiful voice, sings. Once a world-famous cantor arrives in Mazepovka, and Shmulik, having first heard a professional’s singing, decides to teach his son Iosele, who has a beautiful treble, to sing. Yosele hates learning in a header and dreams of learning to be a cantor.

Growing up without a mother, with a brutal stepmother, Iosele has been attached to her neighbor Esther since childhood. The girl’s mother, haberdasher Zlata, early became a widow with three children, and Esther has been helping her with the housework since childhood, is managed in a shop and brings up her younger brothers.

Arguing with neighbors, Zlata protects Iosela from father's reproaches and beatings of her stepmother. Once Esther finds a merchant Leibtsin in the town of Teterevets, who agrees to help Josela learn from the famous cantor Mitzi there. The stepmother agrees to get rid of the stepson, but her father is tormented by conscience, and Zlata is unhappy that the boy will have to leave home. However, the twelve-year-old Iosela goes to Teterevets.

Seeing the poorly dressed boy, Mitzi is distrustful of him, but upon hearing his singing, he is delighted and takes Yosele to his chorus as a songwriter.

Mitzi is friendly to Yosele, unlike her wife, who does not like the boy, finds fault with him as well as his stepmother, makes him help around the house. The boys from the choir, envious of Iosela, are also unfriendly to their new comrade.Leibtsin helps Yosele with money and, arriving from Mazepovka, brings letters from his father. The boy is very homesick and especially Esther.

One of the former students of Mitzi, and now the cantor himself, Gedalia, hearing about his new singing teacher, is trying to lure him to him. Iosele agrees to sing with Gedaliah, who offers him to travel around the world and earn money, but first he wants to see his relatives, for three years he was not in his native Mazepovka.

On Saturday, Iosele sings hymns in the Cold Synagogue of Mazepovka. People admire his unusual voice, calling him the nightingale. Guests come to the house to Shmulik to express their admiration, even the stepmother Yosele is moved by the singing of her stepson. But Yosele is only concerned about meeting Esther.

Soon Iosele became a famous cantor. Word of mouth is the legend of his extraordinary voice. And although he does not come home, Shmulik receives money from him. But soon Iosele ceases to help the family, and the father does not receive any news from his son. Longing for Yosel and Esther. She could have married, but she could not forget her childhood friend, she does not believe that Iosele violated the oaths and promises made during the separation.

Meanwhile, Iosele travels around the cities with Gedaliah. Gedaliah no longer sings, but takes care of Josel as a father, arranging in the synagogues that Josel sang. Having seen the world, Iosela becomes a dagger. He skips prayers, plays cards, feasts pork and can drink a glass of “bitter”. In addition, a handsome young man is popular with women.But the cantor is the intercessor of the flock before God, and such behavior causes indignation of people. Besides the fact that Yosele is a good profitable article for Gedaliah, Gedaliale hopes to marry his daughter to him, although the girl is older than Yosele. He dares from the youth of all the brides who meet him. But soon Gedaliah realized that his hopes were not destined to come true, Iosele said that he was not going to marry, and if he married, then only to a girl from Mazepovka.

Iosele arrives in the town of Strishch. There he meets a young widow, Madame Perelet, whose husband recently died, leaving her a decent condition. A beautiful, educated woman and a wealthy home make Josela forget about Esther. The brothers of deceased husband Madame Perelet are indignant that the term of mourning is not over yet, but with the help of Gedalia, who noticed that Iosele the nightingale often lets a rooster and risks losing his voice, the wedding took place, and the young move to Berdichev.

In Berdichev, Iosel has to live with his wife's parents in a small dirty house. He does not understand the life that his father-in-law leads. The wife does not understand his desire to become a cantor. A refined, tender woman turns out to be a bazaar merchant, whom parents obey in all because of the money of her late husband.

Rumors about the marriage of Yosele reach Mazepovka. Recently, due to colds, Shmulik’s voice began to fall, and the news of his son’s marriage was a heavy blow to him. Esther also secretly suffers, to whom the local moneylender, the widower Alter, whom all Mazepovka hates, marries.From hopelessness, the girl succumbs to persuasion and decides to marry a rich old man. Even sitting at the engagement, she hopes for the appearance of Yosele. At the wedding, Esther faints with grief.

Meanwhile, Yosele, having left her wife, returns to Mazepovka. Dreaming of a meeting with Esther, he gets to her wedding in the midst of fun, not seen by anyone. Yosele becomes ill and he runs home.

The next day, guests gather in the house of Zlata for the ceremony of "tying the bride." Hearing that Iosela arrived alone and lay sick, in a fever, Esther hardly restrained herself so as not to go to him.

After the guests leave, Esther and her mother come to visit the patient. Despite the fact that they are both tied up by marriage, Yosele offers Esther to escape. Overcoming the temptation, Esther returns home to her husband.

Iosele spent three weeks with brain inflammation. All this time, Esther came to visit him, despite the ridicule of her husband. Iosele was almost recovering when Madame Perelet appeared. Seeing his wife, Yosele with a wild cry rushes at her. Shmulik drives his crazy son to a tzaddik in the neighboring village of Makarovka.

Esther melts like a candle, although Alter spares no money with either doctors or medicines. Cantor Shmulik died, and in Mazepovka they collect alms for his widow and younger children. Madame Perelet returned to her parents, becoming a widow with a living husband. She lives well with the money of her first spouse.

A crazy man wanders around Makarovka. He comes into the house and waits for him to be given food. He rarely speaks to someone, but sometimes begins to sing.He sings so that people give up all their affairs and come to listen to him. While singing, he can begin to bark like a dog, meow a cat, or scream like a rooster. People treat him with compassion, give money and clothes, only mischievous boys tease and beat him. Yosele the nightingale calmly takes offense, not wrangling with anyone.