July 27, 2010|By David A. Schwartz, Staff Writer, Sun Sentinel

Most Saturdays following Sabbath services at Boca Raton Synagogue, Aviva Reich Bierly and her friends get together for an afternoon of mahjongg.

“We all have two, three, four, five children,” said Reich Bierly, 45, of West Boca Raton. “When we can get away, we all run out and play.”

Reich Bierly and several other women in the group said they are part of a growing number of mahjongg players in South Palm Beach County and around the country.

Barak Bar Chaim, 38, a former assistant rabbi at Boca Raton Synagogue, tapped into that following with the DVD “Learn Mahjongg with Susie,” his first foray into Internet marketing.

The DVD features Susie Berger, one of the women in Reich Bierly’s group, introducing new players to the American version of the ancient Chinese game. It is available for $39.95 at howtoplaymahjong.com.

“There was no way of learning except having an experienced teacher in a group,” Bar Chaim said. “It can be quite intimidating to get into the game. The rules can be quite confusing, especially for the beginner.”

He said he approached Berger, who has taught about a dozen women to play mahjongg, to become a partner in the project. She wrote the script and narrated the video. And he hired a videographer to do the filming and produce the DVD from more than eight hours of video.

Bar Chaim said he never heard of mahjongg until he came to West Boca Raton from South Africa with his family a little more than two years ago to live near his parents and sister. He became assistant rabbi at the synagogue after leading congregations in South Africa for eight years.

Bar Chaim said he wanted to make a career change and decided to try Internet marketing, starting with the mahjongg DVD. “I saw it was a market that no one had done anything in yet,” he said.

He said he is considering producing a DVD about mahjongg strategy and is working on DVDs on self-growth and development and on cooking.

Berger, 41, said she learned mahjongg from a friend and was “hooked after the first game.

“A lot of people probably think mahjongg is for older women,” the West Boca Raton resident said. “It has made a tremendous comeback. It’s not just your grandmother’s game anymore.”

Mona Fisher, 52, of West Boca Raton who also plays mahjongg on the Sabbath, agreed that the game is making a comeback. “It’s just fun. It’s very social,” she said.

Fisher thinks “Learn Mahjongg with Susie” will do very well, especially with people who want to learn to play but don’t want to take a class.

Mahjong Rules

Tags: American Mahjong, How to Play Mahjong, how to play mahjongg, mahjong game, Mahjong Rules