About
Our Mission
MaTovu is an inclusive Jewish space in St. Louis City that fosters connection by enriching our community's spiritual, cultural, and social life.
MaTovu is grounded in the Yiddish concept of Doikayt or “hereness” that emphasizes an active commitment to the place where one is. MaTovu is rooted deliberately in our building, in the McReetown/ Botanical Heights neighborhood, in St. Louis City. This is our home. Our primary aim is to build a Jewish community in, for, and with St. Louis. Doikayt helps to guide us in our participation with the City and our engagement with all of our neighbors. We are honored by the opportunity to both share with and learn alongside our Jewish and non-Jewish neighbors as we work together to build a stronger civic culture rooted in mutual support, connection, and understanding.
As MaTovu continues to grow, our commitment to offering cultural, spiritual, and relationship-building opportunities remains steadfast. MaTovu aims to be an inclusive, progressive Jewish voice in the heart of St. Louis for generations to come.
Our Background
MaTovu — an inclusive Jewish cooperative community center— first opened in October 2018 as a Jewish space for the first time in 75 years. From 1929- 1944, the South Side Hebrew Congregation met at this location at 4200 Blaine Avenue in the City’s Botanical Heights neighborhood. While few records remain of the congregation, its distinctly Jewish character has been maintained in the windows and façade.
MaTovu was founded and originally operated by a volunteer board of entrepreneurs to build inclusive connections that enrich the community’s spiritual, cultural, and social life. The organization emerged in response to a growing need for spaces where people could engage in difficult yet meaningful conversations through the lens of Jewish identity, spirituality, and progressive values. MaTovu was created not only as a place for these conversations, but also as a space for building authentic relationships rooted in understanding and belonging. Today, MaTovu continues this commitment to dialogue while also offering Jewish programming and community experiences that are open to all and enrich the broader community. Alongside existing synagogues and Jewish organizations, MaTovu contributes to strengthening the city’s Jewish landscape while also serving as a neighborhood center open to all, embracing the challenge and opportunity of creating a space that is welcoming and accessible across communities.
The name, MaTovu, comes from the only prayer in Jewish liturgy crafted by a non-Jew. The story goes that a wicked prophet named Balaam was supposed to curse the Jews in the desert, but — overcome with awe at the sight of folks gathered together — felt compelled to bless them instead.
MaTovu draws strength and inspiration from this ancient story as building local connections around shared values with both our Jewish and non-Jewish neighbors feels more important than ever. The Jewish people have their own unique historical vantage point of the world that includes layered celebration, trauma, and dispossession of space. This is of course compounded by all of our layered identities, and the intersections of communities our identities cross into. It is from this place that MaTovu evolved. MaTovu seeks to create a center out of a historically-rich, rebuilt Jewish building that provides innovative opportunities for social change grounded in the work of being a neighbor and building relationships with the broader community.
Doikayt
About the Space
MaTovu is an accessible and inclusive 2,600 square feet divided into a large multi-purpose space, a small kitchen, and two small rooms currently serving as a children’s space/library and office. Our kitchen is outfitted with a refrigerator, sink, and convection oven to support regular event usage. Our large multi-purpose space can accommodate up to 110 people with a wide array of seating, table, and room arrangements, and is outfitted with A/V technology. MaTovu rents and loans our space out as a community and neighborhood resource, as well as for private event rentals.
Board Members
Abby Bennett
Shira Berkowitz
Katie Garland
Nava Kantor
Staff
Barbara Levin
Paul Sorenson
Andrew Warshauer
Jeremy Brok - Managing Director - jeremy@matovustl.org
Charlie Meyers - Program Coordinator - charlie@matovustl.org