Reading HaHazanim

This article examines the case of Miriam Devorah in the story “Hazanim” in Ir umeloah. Born into a family of hazzanim and gifted musically, she becomes victim of a depression that ends her life. Five explanations for her illness are offered in the story, but the order of their presentation is at odds with the order of their occurrence. The existence of two, differentiated target audiences for the telling of the story is suggested to account for this gap.