Why Jewish Women Claimed Mahjong as Their Own
In 1937, four hundred women crowded into New York's Essex House hotel to settle an argument about a Chinese tile game. What came out of that room — the National Mah Jongg League — turned mahjong into one of the most durable traditions in Jewish-American life. This is the story of how a game from Shanghai became, in the words of the women who play it, "our game."
The short version:
- Mahjong arrived in America in the 1920s, and Jewish women fell for it hard.
- The National Mah Jongg League, founded by Jewish women in 1937, standardized an American version of the game.
- It became a social glue, a fundraising engine, and a thread connecting grandmothers to granddaughters.
- Today a new generation is picking up the tiles — often with their mother's set.
Watch: How Mahjong Became a Jewish Game
Traditional vs. Jewish-American Mahjong, at a Glance
| Aspect | Traditional Mahjong | Jewish-American Mahjong |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | 19th-century China | 1920s America |
| Rules | Complex, regionally varied | Simplified, standardized by the NMJL |
| Cultural role | Beloved game | Jewish social tradition |
| Fundraising | Limited | Major charitable tool |
| Generational pull | Varies | Bubbie to mother to daughter |
How a Chinese Game Became a Jewish Tradition
Mahjong hit American shores in the 1920s during a nationwide craze, and when the fad faded for everyone else, Jewish women kept playing. By 1937 the game had a rules problem — every table played differently — so those 400 women at the Essex House founded the NMJL to standardize it. Two names to know: Dorothy Meyerson, who championed a "streamlined" American game and taught free lessons at Macy's, and Viola Cecil, the league's president, who spread it through Jewish women's networks. It worked. By 1941 the league had more than 35,000 members.
Historian Annelise Heinz, who wrote the definitive book on mahjong in America, explains why the game stuck:
"Mah jongg becomes a powerful marker — some Jewish women called it 'our game,' though it was drawing from a shared American past and it was a Chinese game, that was (like Jews) different, other, not Protestant."
During World War II, mahjong filled evenings for Jewish wives whose husbands were overseas. By the 1950s it was the sound of summer in the Catskills bungalow colonies — so thoroughly absorbed into Jewish life that some families assumed "mahjong" was a Yiddish word from the old country. It is not. It just sounds like it should be.
Why the Game Took Hold
Ask players why mahjong matters and you'll hear five answers, over and over.
It builds a social world. Seventeen-year player Jen Faber puts it plainly: "What mahjong gives you is a social connection. It gives you a social outlet." Her group of camp friends has met monthly for years — "We have become so close as a group... Mahjong is what's keeping us together" — latke-fueled Hanukkah party included.
It connects generations. Many players use sets inherited from mothers and grandmothers. Judy Goldstein Trerotola of CJP calls the game "an indelible strand that binds women of every generation to the one before it" — for her, as culturally Jewish "as bagels and Hava Nagila."
It raises money. The NMJL sells its annual rule cards and donates the proceeds to more than 25 charities. Synagogue sisterhoods and Hadassah chapters have used card sales as fundraisers for decades. As Trerotola jokes, "Who knew playing could be such a mitzvah?"
It keeps minds sharp. The game rewards memory, pattern-reading, and adaptability — which is why you'll find 96-year-olds playing three times a week and running the table.
It's an informal support group. Former NMJL president Ruth Unger: "It's not that you've left [your] problems behind, it's that everybody has time to think about them and come up with solutions!" Groups send shiva baskets, celebrate simchas, and carry each other through the years between.
A Welcome at Every Table
Mahjong also opens doors. When Jane Weiss moved to Nashville knowing no one, a Jewish Federation reception led her to a mahjong group — and to friends. Instructors like Michelle Tishler run classes at Nashville's Gordon Jewish Community Center that mix ages and backgrounds, and at the Museum at Eldridge Street's annual festival, Chinese-American and Jewish women play side by side, teaching kids the game they share. Psychotherapist and cantor Jessica Turnoff Ferrari describes the range of a single table's conversation: "from our teenage exploits way back when to more recent health challenges."
The Game, Made New
The newest chapter is a wave of Jewish-designed sets and accessories that finally look like the culture that adopted the game. Our own Menschie Mahjong set — 160 hand-painted acrylic tiles — reimagines the classics: cracked matzo for the craks, olive branches for the bams, evil eyes for the dots, and a Bubbie ladling matzo ball soup on every joker.
And the trend runs past the tiles themselves:
| Product | Price | What It Is |
|---|---|---|
| Mah Jongg Bowl with Heart Spoon | $38 | Snack dish for game night |
| Mah Jongg Cheese Spreaders | $20 | Themed snack utensils |
| Marzipan Mah Jongg Tiles | $58 | Edible mahjong |
| Mah Jongg Clutch by Kent Stetson | $208 | Fashion meets mahjong |
| Mah Jongg Crystal Menorah | $98 | Mahjong–Hanukkah fusion |
FAQs
Why is mahjong considered Jewish?
It isn't Jewish by origin — it's Chinese. But Jewish women in American cities adopted it in the 1920s, founded the National Mah Jongg League in 1937, and built a distinct version of the game and a culture around it. Nearly a century later, the association has been earned.
How did Jews start playing mahjong?
The game spread through Jewish urban and suburban networks starting in the 1920s, accelerated during World War II when wives played while husbands served, and reached 35,000 NMJL members by 1941.
Do Jews play mahjong differently?
Yes. The NMJL's "National Mah Jongg" is faster and more standardized than Chinese mahjong, adds jokers, and uses an annual card of winning hands that changes every year — which is half the fun and all of the arguments.
Why is mahjong important at Jewish game nights?
Because it's rarely just a game. Sets are inherited, the table talk is multigenerational, and the click of the tiles carries a hundred years of family memory. (If you're hosting, we have snack recommendations.)
How has Jewish mahjong changed over time?
The 1930s–40s made it a Jewish women's game; the 1950s–60s made it a middle-class institution; and today, granddaughters are rediscovering it. As Annelise Heinz observes: "Many of the Jewish daughters who once rejected mah-jongg are now returning to the game as a way to connect with their Jewish identities and rekindle memories of their mothers."
The Long Game
Mahjong has survived a century of fads because it does something few games can: it holds people together. As instructor Michelle Tishler says, "If you talk to people that are in a mahjong group, they will adore the people they play with." The tiles have changed — the tradition hasn't.