Four Tuesdays to a first full hand at DOROT on the Upper West Side

This Tuesday afternoon, the first session of a new class was set for West 85th Street in Manhattan, to teach American Mahjong from the very first tile. The series is called Mahjong for Beginners, and it is run by DOROT, an organization that has spent fifty years bringing older New Yorkers out of isolation and into company.

According to the event page, the class meets four times, on Tuesdays November 3, 10 and 17 and December 1, from one o'clock to three, at DOROT's building at 171 West 85th Street. Attendance is required for all four sessions, because each week builds on the last.

The page promises to take students from learning the tiles and the card all the way to playing a first full hand. No experience is needed. Registration for this round has now closed.

Taught by a volunteer

The class is led by Talya Gitin, whom DOROT introduces as a volunteer and a mahjong maven. That detail matters at DOROT, which runs on volunteers. Its About page says 6,500 volunteers gave more than 49,000 hours of service last year, and that its programs served almost 8,000 older adults, a 33 percent rise over the year before.

DOROT's calendar says it offers its programs and services to everyone free of charge. A beginner who has never held a tile, and who may never have owned a set, can walk in and be taught by someone who loves the game.

“Cost should never be a barrier to accessing caring relationships and community connection.”DOROT

Fifty years of company

DOROT was founded in 1976 by a group of recent social work graduates in New York City, according to its history page. They started on the Upper West Side with regular visits and food deliveries to older neighbors. The organization now marks its fiftieth year.

Its stated mission is to ease social isolation among older adults and to help them live independently as valued members of the community. It serves the Jewish community and the wider community alike, and brings the generations together. The About page notes that while DOROT serves older adults, anybody can find a place there.

Mahjong fits that mission almost too neatly. The game needs four people at one table, it rewards patience and memory, and it gives strangers something to talk about from the first deal. A card in hand and three new faces across the table is a good cure for a quiet week.

Prim's view

In my opinion, four sessions with attendance required is exactly right for a beginner. One afternoon teaches the tiles. It takes a few weeks of the same faces at the same table before a newcomer stops apologizing and starts calling. By December 1, this class will not only know how to play; they will know whom to play with.

I am glad to see the game land at a place built on company. To my mind, American Mahjong has always been a social game first, and a standing weekly date is what keeps a table alive.

If you missed this round, DOROT's calendar is where the next one will appear. And if you already play, an organization that runs on volunteers might be glad to hear from you.