Jewish women across America have long embraced mah jongg, the Chinese tile game, and the Southern Arizona Jewish community is no exception.
Joseph Babcock, a businessman who traveled to China after World War I, introduced mah jongg to the U.S. in the 1920s and it quickly became a fad. There’s even a tile rotation or “tile dance” called “The Charleston.” In 1937, Jewish women in New York City formed the National Mah Jongg League, codifying American mah jongg rules and kicking off a resurgence in popularity. The league sells an annual mah jongg card listing new winning hands to keep the game interesting. It uses the proceeds to make donations to health, civic, and Jewish organizations.
There are many long-running mah jongg games in the Southern Arizona Jewish community, from friends who play in each other’s homes to games sponsored by organizations that include the Tucson Jewish Community Center, the Northwest Tucson Jewish Community, Kol Ami Synagogue, and Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley.
Sharon Klein highlighted local mah jongg groups in her AJP column in 2019.
Klein learned the game at Congregation Anshei Israel sisterhood classes and, with three other women who dubbed themselves “The Maj Chicks,” played for at least 12 years until COVID-19 hit. As the COVID lockdown eased, Klein and another Maj Chick donned masks to play with substitute players, while others took to playing on Zoom.
“It’s such a bond between the gals at the table,” says Klein, who still plays weekly, adding, “That doesn’t mean men can’t play — men do, too.”
Jennifer Lightman, vice president of marketing and communications at Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona, says a mah jongg connection led to her job with the agency.
Unlike many Jewish kids who went to bed to the sound of clicking tiles, Lightman didn’t grow up around the game. Her mother learned to play when Lightman was in college. Lightman learned as a young mom in Atlanta after noticing other mothers heading to a game room after dropping their kids at the synagogue preschool. When she moved to Philadelphia, she taught other young mothers to play.
Upon moving to Tucson in 2021, Lightman sought an introduction to the local Jewish community. Her college roommate put her in touch with Tucsonan Rachel Green, who was co-hosting JPSA’s 2022 Mahj & Mitzvahs. At the event, Lightman met JPSA staff members, including interim CEO Emily Richman, who set up a meeting after learning about Lightman’s communications background.
“I wasn’t looking for a job, but I did end up deciding to come work for JPSA,” says Lightman, who had been working remotely for a Jewish day school in Philadelphia. When Lightman gave notice, her former boss joked, “I knew that mah jongg was going to come to no good!”
A fan of the National Mah Jongg League’s charitable endeavors, Lightman always urges players to buy an annual card — “No photocopying allowed!” she says. She also loves that players can call the league’s hotline if they have questions about a rule.
Saunda Gertraer
knows exactly when she got her first mah jongg set – 43 years ago, as a gift for her first Mother’s Day as a mother. She eventually inherited sets from her mother and mother-in-law, which she has passed on to other players.
Gertraer, who moved to Tucson from Long Island in 2005, not only continues to play, she also makes mah jongg tile jewelry. She made her first tile bracelets years ago after seeing one selling for $200 in New York’s Soho neighborhood. She revived the craft recently after a friend asked for a bracelet and necklace set to give as a gift.
Organizations in the wider community, such as churches and libraries, also host mah jongg games.
Beth Golding Confrey, who has played the game for 50 years, says she practically grew up on her mother’s lap at the mah jongg table. Under the name Dangling Dragns LLC, Confrey created a mah jongg tournament and a league for intermediate to expert players, both held at the Oro Valley Community Center. Many of the players are Jewish, she says, and while the majority are 60-plus, a significant number of the women are in their 30s and 40s.
Katie Stellitano-Rosen played her first game at a Mahj & Mitzvahs event six years ago.
The mother of Tucson Hebrew Academy students, she now plays regularly with three other THA moms.
“The game is super fun,” she says, but she also values “the opportunity for the four of us to sit down and hang out with intention. Whoever hosts also provides a little bit of dinner, and a little wine, and we just have a great evening.”
Although she’ll miss this year’s Mahj and Mitzvahs because of travel plans, she says, “I hope more beginners come to the event. It’s just such a gift to be able to hang out with your friends and play this fun game. It’s an easy joy.”
The JPSA Young Women’s Cabinet will host Mahj & Mitzvahs, open to players of all ages and skills, from novice to maven, on Monday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. Wine and snacks are included. Tickets are $18. YWC will collect school supplies (see requested items list) and monetary donations for Homer Davis Elementary School. For more information, contact Ital Ironstone at iironstone@jparizona.org.
