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Lunch & Learn: How did Mah Jong get to be so Jewish??

Wednesday, May 6, 2020 • 12 Iyar 5780

12:30 PM - 1:15 PMZoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/694977285

 

https://images.shulcloud.com/188/uploads/Adult_Education_/Lunch-Learn/mahjongladiespic.pdf

1.…So Much More Than a Game
It is tactile at a time when our fingertips grace only digital surfaces
It is cacophonous, waking up the senses of not only touch but sound
It is retro, a throwback to a simpler time 
It pushes us to think, to plan, to dream
It is the music to accompany our hands as they dance across the tiles
It forges relationships and alliances, competition and cooperation 
It is rich wine and richer conversation 
It is an indelible strand that binds women of every generation to the one before it
It is Mah Jongg…and it is so much more than a game!

 
(Judy Goldstein Trerotola, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Boston
 

2. ”At our game night, if we’re lucky, we’re playing with a set inherited from our mothers or grandmothers, complete with ever-yellowing ivory or bake-a-lite tiles and a fraying leather case, redolent of the generations of loving hands that touched its surface. Not a game passes that I don’t think of my mother and feel her presence. As I sit across from my friends, transfixed by the click and clack of the tiles, I’m transported to a far less complicated time, when similar sounds would travel upstairs to me in my bed, evoking a mélange of feelings: comfort, connection, joy, safety.”  

3. The National Mah Jong League was formed in 1937 by a group of German Jewish women to standardize the rules. (The annual Maj card).  Today there are approximately 400,000 members.  Proceeds of product sales are donated to a variety of charities.  This is on the group’s home page now:
“In light of the unprecedented Covid-19 outbreak affecting our extended MahJongg family, the National Mah Jong League is increasing our aid across the USA.  The League has supported healthcare and disaster recovery efforts for over 80 years, from WWII Relief efforts, 9/11, to Hurricane Katrina and Sandy.  We are proud to support the communities you live in.  Let’s get through this together, safely.”

 

 

 

Have you ever wondered why so many Jewish people love Mah Jong?  The story behind this is a part of the cultural history of the Jews of America.  Debbie Goodman will facilitate this Lunch and Learn as we explore this journey.  You DON’T have to be a Maj Jong player to participate! 
 
IF you have a story to share about your own family’s connection with the game, there will be time to do that.  Do you have a Mah Jong set from a parent or grandparent that you would like to show us or tell us about?  Please do!
 

To access Zoom for this and future Lunch & Learn sessions, please go to:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/694977285
Meeting ID: 694 977 285
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Dial in on your phone (audio only)
by your location: 1-253-215-8782   1-346-248-7799
      
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdRzkicchQ

By the way:  If you are interested, there is a short film about this subject entitled:  “Mah Jong:  The Tiles that Bind.”  You can watch it on Vimeo for a small fee if you'd like. Info here: https://www.btgproductions.com/mahjonggmovie   
There is also quite a lot of online resources to help you learn the game.  One example: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=kdq4yk51Tos&list=PLLk097vMqukZECQNPNqSK2q99DiLNgkzj. And, we just learned of a mah jong app that for just $5/month allows you to play against friends, a computer, or yourself: Real Mah Jongg 

 

This program is offered through B'nai Havurah's Lunch & Learn, a virtual series of entertaining, stimulating, and challenging programs. Join us! 

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Sun, January 12 2025 12 Tevet 5785