Fire Destroys Another Synagogue

We are living the Book of Job. One catastrophe followed by another  has shaken the Israelite community to its core. These fires have become a test of our faith.  Moments after ending a phone conversation with Chief Rabbi Funnye on Monday evening, February 12, 2018, he called me back to state in disbelief that he watching a Chicago news program and saw images of another Israelite synagogue on fire. The congregation was called “House of Israel Temple of Faith.”  It also served as a “Hebrew Israelite Culture Center.” It was led by our dear elder Rabbi James Hodges and Rabbi Yacov Johnson. Rabbi Hodges (90) was born on November 7, 1927. His family moved from Mississippi to Chicago as part of the Great Black Migration in the 1930s. After leaving the military in 1952, Hodges began a spiritual journey that led him to his true identity as an Israelite.  He described this revelation as, “The most liberating and empowering experience of my life.” For the next seventy years, Rabbi Hodges traveled throughout the Israelite community working with Rabbi Divine, Rabbi Abihu Rueben, Rabbi Nolan, Ben Ammi, Chief Rabbi Levi Ben Levy, his fellow Chicago resident Chief Rabbi Capers Funnye, and many other religious and civic leaders.

On April 14, 1965, The House of Israel Temple of Faith was formed as a result of a merger between two congregations.  Over the next decade the congregation grew rapidly because of the dynamic teaching of Rabbi Hodges and his associates, which included Rabbi W.O. Young, Rabbi Leranus Johnson, and others of blessed memory. In 1977, the congregation moved into a large brick building located at 7130 S. South Chicago. It was a jewel of Chicago’s Israelite community for many years.  In addition to Sabbath services and Hebrew classes, the large facility hosted popular lectures and theatrical performances. The eminent playwright, Danny Hodges, who wrote The Diary of Black Men (How Do You Love a Black Woman?) and many other nationally touring productions, is the son of Rabbi Hodges. Many of those plays were first performed within the walls of that synagogue. During the 1980s, this location became the headquarters for the Mid-Western Region of the International Israelite Board of Rabbis. During that period, we were hoping to find a way to resolve the theological disputes concerning the messiah that divides our community. Though a lasting solution was never found, Rabbi Hodges maintained a very close and warm friendship with the Israelite Board of Rabbis that continues to this day.

Since the fire, I have had several conversations with Rabbi Hodges and leaders of the House of Israel Temple of Faith. They are in amazingly high spirits for people who lost their place of worship.  They are thankful that none of the residents who lived in apartments above the synagogue were injured. They are anxiously awaiting an official report from the fire department giving the cause of the blaze.  However, since the fire started in the basement, they suspect that a failure in the electrical or gas system caused the accident.

Our community is still reeling from a fire that destroyed Bnai Adath Kol Bet Yisrael Congregation in Brookly, New York, just three months ago. They are in the process of rebuilding. We are a people whose holy temple in Jerusalem was destroyed twice. We have been enslaved in Egypt, Babylon, and the Western Hemisphere. We have survived persecution, Holocaust, racism, and anti-Semitism.  We shall survive these tragedies as well. “For this is like the days of Noah unto Me, When I swore that the waters of Noah would not flood the earth again; so I have sworn that I will not be angry with your nor will I rebuke you. For the mountains may be removed and the hills may crumble, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you.” Isaiah 54:8-10.

Please donate using this GoFundMe link which was created by the House of Israel Temple of Faith.