 
Mayda Clarke - Executive Director
 Mayda joined the Temple Emanuel professional staff in 1999. In her role as Executive Director she is a valuable member of the management team consisting of our Executive Board and Board of Trustees, our Rabbis and staff.
Her goal is to ensure that Temple Emanuel has “something for everyone”, feels “haimish” and provides members with a sense that we are One Congregation…One Family.
After having worked as a teacher in Brooklyn, New York where she was raised, and in Short Hills and Moorestown in New Jersey, she shifted her career to Jewish Communal Service and spent 23 years at the Jewish Community Center of Southern New Jersey, now the Katz JCC. At the JCC, she was the Assistant Executive Director whose main responsibility was running the JCC Camps at Medford, the largest Jewish day camp in North America. At the JCC, Mayda was responsible for the creation of the Open Hearts/Open Doors program to include children of all abilities into the typical camping program and the ACHaD program, which offers support services to enable children, adults and seniors, regardless of ability or handicap, to participate year round in all JCC programming.
Mayda enjoys working closely with our Rabbis, the staff and each of the Temple officers and assisting committees in dealing with all aspects of our Temple community. She has been thrilled by the congregation’s response to all of the new initiatives and continues to “stay up nights” planning new ways to keep members involved.
Her door is always open, and she welcomes new ideas, volunteers – new and old, and meaningful ways of making the Temple an important part of your life.
Mayda is married to Alan and they have 2 grown children. Jason married Stacy at Temple Emanuel in April 2001.They make their home in Marlton, New Jersey. Pamela married Aaron at Temple Emanuel in July 2006. They make their home in Jersey City, New Jersey. Mayda and Alan are also proud grandparents to Zoey Jane, Simon James and Evie Simone.
Mayda and Alan enjoy traveling, lazy days at the Shore, movies and reading.
Mayda holds a B.S. and an M.Ed.
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Murray Savar, Accompanist
 Murray Savar, our resident organist/pianist/substitute cantor is also director of music at The Agnes Irwin School in Rosemont, PA. He has been at Irwin's since 1977, teaching Kindergarten through high school general music, conducting choral concerts, composing and producing children's operas, musicals, and songs. His musical training started at Settlement Music School. Attending Central High School of Philadelphia, he was awarded the Board of Education Music Scholarship to attend Temple University College of Music.
His long-term collaboration with cantor Robin Sherman began as both were music education students. He has also studied in Hungary at summer graduate seminars at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest and at the Kodály Institute of Music in Kecskemét. His Judaic background includes study at Gratz College and Temple University, teaching Hebrew School at Temple Beth Tikvah-B'nai Jeshurun in Flourtown, PA, and organist at Or Ami in Lafayette Hill, PA.
Murray also is a lover of languages. He can converse in Hebrew, Hungarian, German, and French. Presently studying Spanish, he hopes to add this to the list soon!
In 1993, when TE was in need of an organist, Cantor Sherman asked Murray to substitute until a replacement could be found. Because of his already very busy schedule, he was reluctant to commit to a permanent position here at TE, but Murray fit so well in the TE family, that he's been here ever since.
In addition to being an organist here, he added piano into the service. His extensive knowledge of Hebrew, cantillation, and Jewish music has enabled him to fill in as substitute cantor. In 2001 he and Cantor Sherman completed a CD recording of the Shabbat liturgy.
In 2003 he composed the musical score for La France Divisée, a film documenting the collaboration and resistance in Vichy France and the deportation of the Jews during World War II.
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