<P> "He's a mascot, he's a friend, he's a teammate, he's a borderline deity to our team...He brings a lot to the table...Every team needs their Jobu . He was ours . He had his own locker, and we even gave him offerings: Manischewitz, gelt, and gefilte fish...He is everywhere and nowhere all at once . His actual location is irrelevant because he exists in higher metaphysical planes . But he's always near ." </P> <P> Team Israel Manager Jerry Weinstein said: "He's on the team . Everybody brings something to the team, and certainly The Mensch is a unifying factor for the ball club ." Pitcher Gabe Cramer said: "The Mensch on a Bench is...a symbol we can rally around as a team . We are proud to be Jewish, but we know how to make and take a joke, something Jews have a long history of doing . The Mensch is a great way to have fun in the dugout while reminding us of why we're here and who we're representing ." </P> <P> The Elf has received some criticism from cultural reviewers . The Atlantic columnist Kate Tuttle calls it "a marketing juggernaut dressed up as a tradition" whose purpose is "to spy on kids" and that one shouldn't "bully your child into thinking that good behavior equals gifts ." Washington Post reviewer Hank Stuever characterized the concept as "just another nannycam in a nanny state obsessed with penal codes". Writing for Psychology Today, Dr. David Kyle Johnston calls it a "dangerous parental crutch", with much the same reasoning as what he terms the "Santa lie". Professor Laura Pinto suggests that it conditions kids to accept the surveillance state and that it communicates to children that "it's okay for other people to spy on you, and you're not entitled to privacy ." She argues that "if you grow up thinking it's cool for the elves to watch me and report back to Santa, well, then it's cool for the NSA to watch me and report back to the government...The rule of play is that kids get to interact with a doll or video game or what have you, but not so with the Elf on the Shelf: The rule is that you don't touch the elf . Think about the message that sends ." </P>

Where does the elf on the shelf live