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]
Hanukkah is a Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE.
The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They previously played at Midway Stadium from 1993 to 2014.
A bobblehead, also known by nicknames such as nodder, wobbler, or wacky wobbler, is a type of small collectible figurine. Its head is often oversized compared to its body. Instead of a solid connection, its head is connected to the body by a spring or hook in such a way that a light tap will cause the head to move around, or "bobble," hence the name.
In Yiddish, a mensch or mentsh is "a person of integrity and honor". American humorist Leo Rosten describes a mentsh as "someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being 'a real mensch' is nothing less than character, rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous". The term is used as a high compliment, implying the rarity and value of that individual's qualities.
Major League is a 1989 American sports comedy film produced by Chris Chesser and Irby Smith, written and directed by David S. Ward, that stars Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, James Gammon, Bob Uecker, Rene Russo, Margaret Whitton, Dennis Haysbert, and Corbin Bernsen.
Sufganiyah is a round jelly doughnut eaten around the world during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. The doughnut is deep-fried, injected with jam or custard, and then topped with powdered sugar. The doughnut recipe originated in Europe in the 16th century, and by the 19th century was known as a Berliner in Germany and a Religieuse in France. Polish Jews, who called it a ponchki, fried the doughnut in schmaltz rather than lard due to kashrut laws. The ponchik was brought to Israel by Polish Jewish immigrants, where it was renamed the sufganiyah based on the Talmud's description of a "spongy dough".
David Michael Bell is an American former professional baseball third baseman and second baseman, former coach, and former manager who most recently managed the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). Over the course of his 12-year MLB playing career, Bell appeared at all four infield positions while playing for the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Milwaukee Brewers, but played primarily at third and second. Bell made his MLB debut for the Indians in 1995.
Bradley David Ausmus is an American former professional baseball player, manager and current coach. He is the bench coach for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). In his 18-year MLB playing career, Ausmus played as a catcher for the San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He also managed the Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, and Israeli national baseball team.
A Luther Burger, or doughnut burger, is a hamburger or cheeseburger with one or more glazed doughnuts in place of the bun. These burgers have a disputed origin, and tend to run between approximately 800 and 1,500 calories.
Jerry Austin Narron is an American professional baseball manager, coach, and former player. He is the current catching coach for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He recently served as a major league instructor for the Chicago White Sox. Narron played in MLB, primarily as a catcher, for three teams during 1979–87. He has served as manager for the Texas Rangers (2001–02) and the Cincinnati Reds (2005–07).
Josh Lewin is an American sportscaster who works as a play-by-play announcer for the UCLA Bruins football and basketball teams.
The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts were Seoul, Tokyo, Miami, and Zapopan. The second-round hosts were Tokyo and San Diego, and the championship round was played in Los Angeles.
The Israel National Baseball Team represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Ian Kinsler.
The Elf on the Shelf is the name of a 2005 American picture book for children, written by Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell, and its accompanying toy elf. The book was illustrated by Coë Steinwart and tells a Christmas-themed story, written in rhyme, that explains how Santa Claus knows who is naughty and nice. It describes elves visiting children from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, after which they return to the North Pole until the next holiday season. It came in a keepsake box that featured a hardbound picture book and a small scout elf. The story was inspired by a family tradition that started with Carol Aebersold when she was a child, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and which she later carried on with her twin daughters, Chanda Bell and Christa Pitts, in Georgia.
Jerry Weinstein is an American professional baseball manager. He most recently managed the 2017 Hartford Yard Goats, a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) Double-A team in the Eastern League, an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.
Cody Marshall Decker is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres in 2015. A right-handed power hitter, he played first base, third base, left field, and could catch.
Team Israel has competed in the World Baseball Classic since the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifier round. In 2017 Israel competed at a World Baseball Classic qualifier for the second time, and for the first time qualified for the main tournament.
Pool A of the first round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic was held at Gocheok Sky Dome, Seoul, South Korea from March 6 to 9, 2017, between Israel and the Netherlands and South Korea and Taiwan. Pool A was a round-robin tournament. Each team played the other three teams once, with the top two teams advancing to Pool E.
On the night of December 28, 2019, the seventh night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, a masked man wielding a large knife or machete invaded the home of a Hasidic rabbi in Monsey, Rockland County, New York, where a Hanukkah party was underway, and began stabbing the guests. Five men were wounded, two of whom were hospitalized in critical condition. Party guests forced the assailant to flee by wielding chairs and a small table. Three months after the stabbing, the most severely injured victim, Rabbi Josef Neumann, aged 72, died of his wounds.