Hershel was a prankster from Ostropol, Crown Poland (now Ukraine), who lived in poverty and targeted the rich and powerful, both Jew and Gentile.
Hershel was originally a shochet who, having offended some of his townspeople with his humor, left, wandered, and "found his calling" as court jester of the Baal Shem Tov's grandson.
[3] While his exploits have been mythologized over the years, the character of Hershele is based on a historic figure, who lived in what is today Ukraine during the late 18th or early 19th century.
[4] In the Hershele stories, he was chosen by members of Rabbi Boruch's court in order to counter the rebbe's notorious fits of temper and lift his chronic melancholy.
[9] In 1999, Shari Aronson of Z Puppets Rosenschnoz received permission from Eric Kimmel to adapt the book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins for the stage.
This adaptation has since been produced four times by Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company, with puppets by Chris Griffith winning a 2009 MN Ivey Award, and multiple times by theater companies and Jewish Community Centers across the U.S. During dinner, his father noticed that Hershele's shirt was grease-stained and that the goose's left foot was missing.