Torah Prep School of St. Louis is excited to announce its Double Chai – 36th Anniversary Dinner and live concert Sunday, February 4, 2024, at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. This year we will be honoring Dr. Dov & Mrs. Tziona Zeffren with our Pillars of Torah Prep Award, and Mr. Jonathan Browne (of Novus Companies), will be receiving the Michael Staenberg Heart of Gold Award. This year’s theme will be “The Hidden Gems of Torah Prep School”.

Torah Prep School will have an elegant buffet spread, an outstanding dinner program and we are delighted to announce that nationally acclaimed Jewish singer Baruch Levine will be performing LIVE for all attendees of our gala event. Baruch Levine has been said to have raised the “bar” of Jewish music. His best-selling albums reflect his diversity of talents as a composer, arranger, and great singer.

Dov & Tziona Zeffren – Pillars of Torah Prep Award

Life is full of challenges. The Jewish way is to embrace each day, fill it with our energy, talents, and desire to move the world up a notch, rather than passively watch life flow by. Tziona and Dr. Dov Zeffren exemplify a couple who do just that. During their many years of activism in the St Louis Jewish community, they have enhanced many organizations with their passion and knowledge. Torah Prep Day School has and continues to be the grateful beneficiary of much dedicated and important work from the Zeffrens.

From almost the moment Dov and Tziona were married they have been involved in multiple Jewish organizations in some form or fashion throughout the St. Louis Jewish community. These included Epstein Hebrew Academy, Young Israel, Agudas Israel, NCSY, Aish HaTorah (where Tziona continues to be an active board member), Block Yeshiva High School, the St. Louis Kollel, (including its immensely successful Maimonides, outreach program at Washington University under the dynamic leadership of Rabbi Sroy Levitansky), and for the last 7 years Dov as Board President at Torah Prep. Dov Zeffren was an integral part of helping to navigate Torah Prep School’s successful transition from the purchase of its previous property to its move to a new campus location.

The Zeffrens have been blessed to have developed close relationships with many Rabbis throughout the community as well as many dear friends throughout the years. They are currently also involved in outreach projects involving young adults through Ignite YP (Young Professionals), as well as in the Partners in Torah learning program on a weekly basis.

Dov and Tziona have been blessed with 8 wonderful children: Shira and Rabbi Asher Yablok, Yael and Dr. Dani Feiner, Talia, and Chaim Schuss, Eitan and Sorola Zeffren and BA”H a number of bright, engaging and active grandchildren. They have instilled in these next generations the same passion for community involvement that is their hallmark. We look forward with anticipation to a rich evening of nostalgia, well-deserved honor, inspiring vision, and friendship February 4th at the Touhill!

Mr. Jonathan Browne Michael Staenberg Heart of Gold Award.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri Jonathan Browne graduated from Lindbergh High School in 1974 before attending Samford University-Birmingham, Alabama where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1978. After graduation he returned to the family supermarket business in which he had grown up. In 1983, it fell upon Jon to orchestrate the complete refocusing of the business to commercial real estate. NOVUS COMPANIES, formerly P. N. Browne Properties, grew out of a family business known as “Brown & Sons’ Foodliner” which at one time consisted of eight IGA Supermarkets. The NOVUS COMPANIES include Novus Development, Novus Properties and Novus Management.

In 1984 the company moved its office to Kirkwood and in 2000 moved to its current office in Webster in order to be closer to Jon’s residence at the time. Jon is active in the community and is a deacon in his church and has served past terms as Chairman of Trustees and Chairman of the Finance Committee. He also is a member of the Kirkwood Rotary Club, The Kirkwood Chamber of Commerce and The Kirkwood Special Business District. As the Chairman of the Special Business District 1984 – 1987, Jon was at the forefront of continuing the revitalization of Downtown Kirkwood. He now resides in Clayton, MO with his wife of 44 years, Lisa. They have two children and two grandchildren. His hobbies include skiing and any sport that involves wheels.

Today, some 46 years after his first property purchase, Jonathan has had direct ownership of real estate through acquisition or development exceeding $300,000,000 in value and 1.6 million square feet. These projects include national tenants such as Wal-mart, Panera, Walgreens, Chick-fil-A, Taco Bell, Amoco, Starbucks, Stienmart, Aldi and Costco. Project types include a variety of retail, office, mixed use and residential condominiums.

Jonathan Browne and NOVUS COMPANIES were an integral part of helping Torah Prep School achieve its dream of having a school building in the heart of the University City religious Jewish neighborhood.

Torah Prep tried unsuccessfully for a decade to obtain the former McNair building located on Groby Road. When Jon Browne approached the school and asked what it would take for leadership to cede the school’s old property on Olive Boulevard to NOVUS (to make room for the new Costco that now is located on the property), the natural request was for his assistance in securing the coveted McNair plot. Jon was up for the challenge, and successfully petitioned the relevant parties to sell the building to Torah Prep School. He has been a supporter and friend of Torah Prep ever since. We are enjoying the fruits of his efforts at our beautiful new campus, with enrollment increasing from 250 to 330 students in the 3-year period since the move. It is for this reason that Torah Prep School is proud to recognize Mr. Jonathan Browne with the Michael Staenberg Heart of Gold Award.

Torah Prep School cordially invites the community to help celebrate 36 years of Excellence in Torah Education in St. Louis, and to recognize our deserving honorees. All buffet dinner, concert reservations and submission of dinner journal ads can be completed on our website. Please go to www.torahprep.com/dinner, or scan the QR code in our advertisement.