Miracle child inspires mom
Published: December 14, 2005
Until last year, Stacey Mandel thought of miracles in terms of Hanukkah, the upcoming eight-day Jewish holiday celebrating the ancient miracle of oil that was supposed to burn one day but lasted for eight.
Then her daughter Maxie was born three months premature and weighing just over 2 pounds. For nearly 10 weeks, as Maxie was fed through a tube, Mandel could only watch anxiously — and pray.
“For the first time in my life, I was really praying to God. It was a miracle that she survived,” Mandel, 33, said on Tuesday, while visiting her parents, Mark and Sherry Wolkoff of Marlton.
When Maxie, now 17 months, finally came home and Mandel began planning a baby-naming ceremony for her, she looked in vain for a special plaque to convey all the emotions she was feeling.
“I wanted something special to celebrate this miracle. I had all this Jewish pride, but everything I found was so traditional. There was nothing baby-like or whimsical,” she said.
With the creativity and flair for arts and crafts that she honed teaching at Cherry Hill’s A. Russell Knight Elementary School before Maxie was born, Mandel decided to do it herself.
The plaque features Maxie’s Hebrew name, Malka, a crown — since Malka means “queen” in Hebrew — and Maxie’s birthdate, July 27, 2004.
The Cherry Hill native, now living in Havertown, Pa., started scribbling more ideas. Maxie’s ceremony was in March; by May, Mandel was exhibiting her wares at craft shows.
Her fledgling company is “Gefilte PISH,” which celebrates Judaism with a play on words. In Yiddish, “pisher” is a good-natured term for “little squirt.” Mandel and her husband, Jason, called Maxie “pish” before she was born, so Jason Mandel came up with “Gefilte PISH.”
Stacey Mandel’s personalized items include tie-dyed onesies, baby blessing plaques, picture frames and mirrors, handpainted to match a baby’s room colors and decor. Some feature Hebrew names, while others draw on Yiddish. “Shayna punim” (Yiddish for beautiful face) mirrors are popular, as are “tref safe” piggy banks — so named because “tref” is Yiddish for nonkosher, as pigs are.
For Hanukkah, Mandel features tie-dyed shirts decorated with a hanukkiah. The special nine-branched Hanukkah menorah commemorates the eight days that one flask of oil burned after the Maccabee warriors freed the Jews from Greek-Syrian oppression.
Her onesies cost $20, with other items ranging from $8 to $40.
Her items are popular not only with traditional Jewish families but with mixed-marriage couples.
“They are trying to respect each other’s religion. This is a nice way to honor Jewish heritage. I’m going for hip and funky, not traditional and old-school, so my things appeal to younger couples,” she said.
Nicole Cwanger, 33, of Voorhees, asked Mandel to design a onesie for her son, Max, to wear at his bris, or circumcision ceremony, when he was 8 days old. The onesie, with matching cap and booties, bear Max’s Hebrew name, Moshe.
“He’s now 10 weeks old, and he still wears them to the synagogue,” said Cwanger, a convert from Catholicism who attends Congregation Beth El in Cherry Hill.
A member of the Parent Action Network, Mandel lends support to other parents of babies in neonatal intensive care at Lankenau, Bryn Mawr and Paoli hospitals.
When Maxie wears a “miracle” dreidel onesie, Mandel’s mission takes on even more meaning.
“I have been so humbled by Maxie’s birth. I just don’t take anything for granted anymore,” Mandel said.
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