Milton Feist (1907-1975) A Mount Vernon Native Who Spanned Two Different Worlds: Music Publishing Pioneer and Rabbinic Spiritual Leader. Uncle of Richard Feist our 1958 Davis Classmate
There are certain events that are designed for you to catch up with. And below is an amazing one.
Here is a feel good Mount Vernon, New York story that I want to share. About 6 months ago I received a collection of books from my brother, Cantor Mike, and among the them was a volume called Ach Sameiach, Viewing Life Through the Lens of Joy, written by Rabbi A. Leib Scheinbaum (Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, 2023). Mike thought these books would be a welcome addtion to the 6,000 book Harry Rosenbaum Judaica Library temporarily stored by the Jewish Historical Society of Fairfield County in the State Theater on Hope St. It had been an active lending library and home to literary salons and weekly children's events for over thirty years.
As I leafed through the short paperback of 128 pages, I came across the words born in Mount Vernon, New York.
Well that was enough to capture my attention to focus on an amazing life story with its beginnings associated with our family home at 131 Esplanade Drive. Dad was always proud to relate that the original builder that lived in our thirteen-room home built in 1914, was a music publisher named Leo Feist, the father of Milton and grandfather of our 1958 fellow A.B Davis High School graduate Richard Feist. (His comments are recorded on the second link below.)
Well, as I continued to read, I learned that Milton Feist was the exemplar of a pious man, a Tzadik with roots in the secular world of business. At age 4, Milton was struck with polio and spent the rest of his in a wheelchair. Despite his infirmity and chronic pain, Milton joined his family business which meant dealing with the "unconventional, the bohemian and creative artists who frequented Greenwich Village."
His family, with Alsatian roots, was not observant; yet, Milton, despite a busy workaday, became a devoted student of Rabbi Yehoshua Mereminsky (the grandson of the Chofetz Chaim) spiritual leader of the orthodox community of Mt. Vernon and pulpit Rabbi at Congregation Brothers of Israel (CBI), located at South Eighth Ave. (Rabbi Soloman Freilich 1924-2021 succeeded Rabbi Mereminsky to become the longest serving Rabbi in Westchester County with over 50 years of spiritual leadership.)
Milton became consumed by the study of Torah, Gemara, Hassidism and Mussar (ethical character refinement): He received his ordination as Rabbi Meir Feist by the noted Rabbi Mendel Saks, the son-in-law of the Chofetz Chaim.
Rabbi Scheinbaum and other writers who personally knew Rabbi Meir Feist all attest that--despite all the infirmities of his physical condittion-- he was always radiant with an inner light of joy, with a "face that shone."
I consulted with the Director of the Media Center at Mt. Vernon High School to determine if Milton graduated from A.B. Davis High School which would have been in 1925. Unfortuately, the 1925 yearbook is the only one that is missing in her collection. She did however check in earlier and later Yearbooks and did not locate his name.
Here are some links to articles that give remarkable insights into the character of this Tzadik, a man of esteemable character traits recorded by those who were fortunate to learn with him.
https://hitzeiyehonatan.blogspot.com/2005/05/rabbi-milton-feist-in-memoriam.html
* Cantor Mike Schwartz is a graduate of The Ramaz School, Princeton University and was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study Italian Renaissance art in Rome. He has been serving as Cantor and Torah reader at the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights, NY for over 35 years.
