Gail-Friends: Igbo Jews

Showing posts with label Igbo Jews. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Israel Trip - My New Igbo Friends

This post is part of my series 31 Days of the Holy Land

I met a delightful couple on my second trip to Israel. Lazarus and Rosanna Abanonu are from Nigeria, and both members of the Igbo tribe, also known as the Igbo Jews. Both Lazarus and Rosanna are believers in Yeshua the Messiah.

The Igbo tribe is unique in that they have maintained their Jewish culture over hundreds of years. These are the traditions they have maintained:

Belief in the One True G-d of Israel
Circumcision eight days after the birth of a male child
Observance of kosher dietary laws
Separation of men and women during menstruation
The celebration of holidays such as Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot and Passover.
Wearing the tallit and the kippah

I found this fascinating, and enjoyed talking with them about their tribe and about how they came to accept Yeshua. Both were reared as believers by their families. Both attended Christian schools and accepted Yeshua early in their lives.

Lazarus said the first time he saw Rosanna they were both in elementary school, and he immediately knew she would be his wife. He pursued her and they were eventually married after they'd both graduated school. Both went on to college and became educators. They have five children, all college-educated and holding professional positions.

They came to the United States through a special initiative that allowed a certain number of Nigerians to immigrate to America. When they moved to this country, they both worked as teachers in the public schools. Lazarus became a principal and has retired, but Rosanna continues to teach middle school classes. They both love teaching and I'm sure their personalities have been a big part of their success in working children and teens.

When we left the boat after our trip across the Sea of Galilee, we met some Nigerians. Rosanna was so excited and kept saying, "Nigeria, Nigeria," and giving them high-fives. The Nigerians were so excited to be going on the boat and were all singing and praising the L-rd.

The Aboninos are dedicated members of their church, and love to sing. The first night of our trip, I heard people singing in the hotel, and found out later it was them. They told me that every night they read the Bible together and sing hymns of praise to Hashem. They also led us in singing on the bus a couple of times. When others didn't want to sing, they would sing very quietly to themselves. It was so uplifting to see their beautiful hearts of praise and worship. Meeting them was one of the highlights of my trip, and I feel blessed to know them.

As we were leaving the Temple Mount, we ran into some more Nigerians. Don't you love their colorful outfits?