Jewish American Women and the Persistence of American Mah Jongg

Name the specific contribution

Jewish American women and organizations were crucial to the survival, institutionalization, and cultural identity of NMJL-derived American Mah Jongg after the broad 1920s fad receded.

Do not collapse histories

Mahjong is Chinese in origin, and Chinese and Chinese American communities continued playing multiple forms. Overlap does not make the histories interchangeable.

• Specify American Mah Jongg.
• Name institutions and places.
• Avoid a universal “women saved mahjong” slogan.

Document ordinary infrastructure

Weekly games, synagogues, Hadassah chapters, resorts, neighborhoods, teaching, card use, friendship, and charitable networks carried culture through repetition.