“Rabbi, something happened before the kevurah, and it’s giving me no rest”
“Four Crak! Three Bam! Eight Dot!”
The words roll off the tongues of the four women, intensely focused on the small rectangular tiles before them.
Suddenly, Pearl looks up and shouts in a voice that rises above the din of the women — who, remarkably, while never lifting their eyes off the assortment of illustrated tiles, simultaneously and effortlessly share recipes and kvell over their grandchildren — “Mah Jongg!”
These women are among the thousands of Jewish women who embrace and enjoy (sometimes daily) Mah Jongg, a tile-based game developed in China in the 19th century.
In southern Florida, Mah Jongg lives on as Jewish women look forward to the intellectually stimulating diversion and the social interaction it provides.
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