Jewish Contributions to Humanity
#20
#23 in a series
MAKING CONNECTIONS
Students and mental health profes-
sionals agree that feeling connected
is key to making a healthy adjust-
ment to college life. There are a
variety of on-campus organizations
such as Hillel, Chabad, peer-led
groups such as U-M’s Wolverine
Support Network and the newer
Spartan Support Network at MSU,
as well as a multitude of student
groups, clubs and sports activities.
“I encourage students to get
involved in something; anything
where your pas-
sion is will make
campus life more
manageable,” said
Robyn Hughey,
associate direc-
tor of MSU Hillel
and the Hillel
Campus Alliance of
Robyn Hughey
Michigan (HCAM),
which encompasses 10 universities
throughout Michigan.
MSU Hillel, like other Hillel
organizations located within large
universities, offers more than 200
student-driven programs every year
in addition to weekly Shabbat din-
ners, Sunday brunches and holiday
meals and programs.
“Hillel provides many students
that sense of community, home and
belonging they are looking for on
a large campus,” said Tilly Shames,
executive direc-
tor of U-M Hillel,
which offers a vari-
ety of programs
specifically for
freshmen.
Most campuses
also have Chabad-
Lubavitch houses
Tilly Shames
that offer Shabbat
dinners, services and holiday
programs to students, regardless
of religious affiliation or level of
observance.
Peer support can be very helpful,
too. The Wolverine Support Network
now has more than 600 members
who participate in 30 different
groups across the U-M campus on
weekday evenings, and the newer
Spartan Support Network is attract-
ing more and more new members.
“The beautiful thing (about
WSN) is that everyone wants to be
there,” said WSN executive director
and rising senior Jordan Lazarus.
“People are not only listening, but
they’re also nodding their heads,
paying attention. It really helps
that sense of isolation.” •
Campus
Resources
• NAMI (National Institute of Mental
Health) on-campus clubs:
nami.org/GetInvolved/NAMI-on-Campus/
NAMI-on-Campus-Clubs.
• JED Foundation on campus:
jedcampus.org.
• Chabad on campus: chabad.org.
• Hillel of Metro Detroit: hillel-detroit.
org, (313) 577-3459.
• U-M Hillel, michiganhillel.org,
(734) 769-0500.
• MSU Hillel, msuhillel.org,
(517) 332-1916.
• Hillel Oakland University, Oakland
Community College and Lawrence
Technological University:
See Hillel of Metro Detroit.
• Hillels on other campuses:
hillel.org/college-guide.
• Active Minds mental health aware-
ness organization: activeminds.org.
• Suicide prevention Lifeline:
(800) 273-TALK (8255).
• Crisis Text Line: 741741.
• CAPS (Counseling and Psychological
Services) at U-M: caps.umich.edu,
(734) 764-8312.
• Wolverine Support Network:
umichwsn.org.
• Spartan Support Network:
spartansupportnetwork.org.
• Jewish Family Services-Thrive
Counseling Services:
jfsannarbor.org/programs-
services/thrive-clinical-services/
(734) 769-0209.
• Andrew Kukes Foundation for Social
Anxiety: akfsa.org.
• Diane Orley is available to provide
support to groups and individuals regard-
ing mental health issues for young adults:
Dianeorley@gmail.com.
How three Jews
transformed
Western theater.
JACQUES OFFENBACH ( 1819-1880).
b. Cologne, Germany. d. Paris, France.
The father of the comic opera.
The son of a synagogue cantor and café violinist, Offenbach was drawn to music
from an early age, with his greatest ambition being to
write comical works for musical theatre. A cellist and a
composer, as a young man Offenbach toured Europe,
entertaining audiences in theatres and salons, including
permanent appointments at the Opéra-Comique and
Comédie-Francaise in Paris. Offenbach is one of the
fathers of the operetta—short, comical, and often
frivolous operas that emerged from Offenbach’s brand of
comical opera that he specialized in in France. In fact, he
was so popular in France at one point (before the Franco-
Prussian War) that Napoleon III granted him French
citizenship. Today he’s considered one of the most influential musicians in the history
and development of the musical.
OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II ( 1895-1960).
b. New York City. d. Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
The 20th century’s most renowned librettist.
Oscar Hammerstein was born into a family of performers
and producers…and he eclipsed them all. His father didn’t
want him to go into theater, and Hammerstein actually
attended Columbia University pursuing a career in law. But
at 19, he joined a group of performers at Columbia and
met his future collaborator, Richard Rodgers (Rodgers and
Hammerstein). By 1919, Hammerstein became the production
stage manager for all the shows of his producer uncle,
Arthur. And just three years later,
he was writing musical comedies
and librettos (operas) of his own. Over the course of his
career, Hammerstein co-wrote 850 songs as a playwright
and lyricist, and won eight Tony Awards and two Academy
Awards for Best Original Song.
JEROME KERN (1885-1945).
b. New York City. d. Los Angeles, California.
Transforming the American musical.
Kern was one of America’s
top composers for musicals and
film scores, having produced
about 104 works for the stage and the screen, with 15 of
them selling more than 2 million copies. His mother taught
him the piano as a child, and Kern studied composition in
Germany and England. His most famous work was on the
musical “Show Boat”, which Kern conducted and Oscar
Hammerstein II wrote. “Show Boat” marked a departure
from the often-silly operettas that comprised most musicals,
to a form of the art that was both serious and lighthearted.
Even at the time, Kern’s and Hammerstein’s production was
seen as a turning point in the American musical.
Original Research by Walter L. Field Sponsored by Irwin S. Field Written by Jared Sichel
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May 24 • 2018
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