AJT
Jaffe’s Jewish Jive
What We Jews Borrowed From China JEWS IN ATLANTA CONTINUE MAHJONG TRADITION BY MARCIA JAFFE AJT Contributor
Freedman continues, “What’s fun about our game is that we have dues (I was the Treasurer); we invested in stocks. Over the years, we took trips to New York, Toronto, and a spa where our ‘kitty’ paid for it. We were in ‘high cotton.’ The husbands knew not to interfere with our Wednesday Club!”
M
y favorite TV show, “CBS Sunday Morning,” aired a segment on how mahjong has continued to be re-fadded in the US - specifically among Jews. None of us can remember our grandmothers playing; but mothers YES! The segment explained that the game migrated from China to the Jewish neighborhoods in New York; and was featured on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post in 1924. CBS traced the history of mahjong from somewhere between 500 BC and 1875 AD. The game was described as “complex,” “sexy”, “ferocious”- leading to mahjong cruises and junkets to China. Here in Atlanta we would add the word “social” as we unite with friends to share our families’ joys and trials as support groups through out the years. The head mahjong doyenne cautions, “Don’t take diuretics when you sit down at a mahjong table.” Then again she has assistants who sprinkle powder to keep the tiles clacking nicely.
Dr. Jerry Rehert took up Mahjong after retirement. I had a slow start. Seven years ago, my mother tried to teach me and a few friends. She was a good instructor indeed; but I just didn’t have the patience. I grew up on bridge and thought I could learn mahjong in a few sessions; but it’s like golf: one can take lessons at the fanciest clubs; but if you don’t PLAY in between, it won’t sink in. I remember my mother saying, “It’s not that complicated, just look at the card and match the card.” Easier said than done. A few years
later, when I moved into a development with an onsite teacher(Susan Kaye) and regular games, I re-addressed the challenge. Sentimentally it does bring me closer to my now deceased mother, especially when we use her set.
Betty Grodin, 93, is in my Monday game next door to Bnai Torah. We call her “Eagle Eye” as she is by far the best player and sharp as a tack. We tease that this has come from her heart valve replacement (“not pig; but a cow part,” Betty allows). Randy Farrow, Community Relations Director at the Carlton Senior Assistant Living Facility, wanted to pep things up with more social and religious content for residents. Betty started playing 50 years ago in Brooklyn. She likes the challenge and “using my brain.” She says the game is “90% skill” (some would ar-
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september 5 ▪ 2014
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Charlotte Marcus and Cheryl Isaacs flank 93 year old Betty Grodin SENIORS WEIGH IN Phyllis Freedman has been in the same league for over sixty years. Very little has turned over in the group except for one “loss” where the second wife was allowed to step in. According to Phyllis, “I love the sociability. We actually started as an offshoot from canasta. We have shared occasions and have very special friendships.”
gue 50-50). Betty advises new players, “Don’t give up. You have to recognize what’s in your hand initially; then be able to change tiles accordingly.” I muse, “Which comes first- the chicken or the egg?” Are these women good players because they are smart to begin with, OR do their memories stay in tact BECAUSE they play games which keep them sharp?