So why do so many people in the world keep asking, “Are there really Jews in Nigeria?”The double weekday bar mitzvah in Port Harcourt was a highlight of the “Franklin-Miles Tour to Jewish Nigeria 5779” (details of which are available on the blog Jewish Nigeria.) Rabbi Wayne Franklin of Temple Emanu-El in Providence, Rhode Island and his wife Dr. Anne Presser Franklin were guided by one of their congregants, Professor William Miles of Northeastern University (author of Jews of Nigeria: An Afro-Judaic Odyssey).The purpose of the tour was to discover and learn more about the lives of the Nigerian Jews. Over the course of seventeen days, the tour took in thirteen synagogues in four regions and included three spirited shabbatot in Abuja (Nigeria’s capital), Port Harcourt, and Lagos (the economic epicenter). Despite the unfamiliar tropical heat and often exhausting pace, the rabbi kept on teaching Torah and Hebrew.To those residing in a raucous and often fractious developing nation, one of the beauties of Judaism is the strength of its functional communities, integrated and increasingly connected by boundary-hopping technology. Nigerian Jews view such missions as opportunities to strengthen the Judaism network by promoting communal growth and economic development. The visit of the three American Jews to the “Garden City” of Port Harcourt was sandwiched between the first leg in Abuja and the third one in Lagos. The colorful double bar mitzvah honored Shimshon ben Matitiyahu, the son of the rosh of the host Yisharim Synagogue and Tovia ben Derekyahu. Jews travelled from all parts of Rivers State and neighboring regions, to grace the occasion and witness the historic combined mitzvah rituals of two sons of roshim from two different states. Scheduled for that same afternoon were a general and “for Jewish women only” seminars. With over two hundred Jews in attendance, it was one of the most memorable events in Nigerian Jewish history.Referencing the Torah portion of the week, Rabbi Franklin prayed that G-d bless Tovia and Shimshon just as Jacob prayed for blessings from the angel who protected him from ill. Then he highlighted the importance of generational continuity- remembering where we come from, recalling who helped you get there, and knowing that you have responsibilities to carry down to your children and grandchildren. The rabbi concluded by praying for sustained growth in the highly spiritual community of Jews in Nigeria and for strengthened unity, harmony, and understanding within it. Expressing his happiness, he also promised to recount in America the stories of his maiden visit to Africa.Receiving separately wrapped gifts from Rhode Island, the celebrants graciously thanked the Rabbi and prayed to Hashem for a safe return of the American Jews to the United States.Tovia was thrilled by the coincidence of a visit from America during his scheduled bar mitzvah celebration. Both he and Shimshon felt highly honored to have a visiting rabbi deliver the Dvar Torah (sermon) on their bar mitzvah day.“I am one of the luckiest Jewish boys in Nigeria!” Tovia exclaimed. Avraham ben Avraham is a Nigerian Jewish writer, blogger and entrepreneur