During my February 2006 visit to the Emerging  Jewish Communities of Nigeria, I brought with me one of Tikvat Israel’s decommissioned Sifre Torah, one that we had deemed beyond repair.  While it no longer serves any useful religious purpose for our congregation, its power as an educational resource - as an object of both awe and curiosity - must be experienced.

 

After my visit, I received the following letter:

 

On behalf of the entire men, women and children of the Jewish Faith Assembly of Ebonyi State, Nigeria, I say thank you for honoring our invitation to visit us at Ebonyi State.... For the first time in the History of the Jews of Nigeria, we have seen the real Torah scroll and heard it read from.... You can never imagine how magical those moments were for us.

 

Yohannan Ibe, Congregation Leader

Jewish Faith Assembly

 

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Photo: Showing the Torah to Sar Habakkuk Ben Yahudah Nwafor, at his compound in Kubwa, a suburb of Abjua, Nigeria’s capital.