The Mensch on a Bench is a Hanukkah-themed book and doll set created in 2012 by Neal Hoffman, inspired by a joke he had made about the 2005 book and doll The Elf on the Shelf . [1] In 2013 the crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for the marketing of the product started. The doll has appeared on Shark Tank , The Today Show , and The View . [2]
The toy and book are sold together as a package, and the book relates a version of the story of Hanukkah. [3] [4]
In 2016, Team Israel adopted the book's Mensch character as their mascot for the World Baseball Classic. [5]