Rabbi James Hodges “A Life of Love”

Rabbi James Hodges
November 11, 1927 to January 1, 2021

By
Rabbi Sholomo Ben Levy

Rabbi James Hodges was a great soul. He emerged from humble beginnings in Lexington, Mississippi, where his family farmed their land.  The economic hardships of the Great Depression, combined with the racism of Jim Crow segregation in the South, led his family of thirteen to flee to the North during the Black migration. They arrived in Chicago in 1939, and for the rest of his life, Rabbi Hodges was proud to call Chicago his home. He would often take visitors to the Black belt of Chicago and to black-owned restaurants in the city where he would say with pride, “we built this.” He came from a God-fearing family. His grandmother was a leader in the Church of God in Christ, the largest Black Pentecostal demonization in the United States.  Eventually, the spiritual journey of Rabbi Hodges would lead him out of the church and into a new identity as a Hebrew Israelite. For almost seventy years, Rabbi Hodges was a pillar of the Israelite community. He remains a shining example of what love looks like in action.

As a young man, James Hodges graduated from Dunbar Trade School, which was named after the African American poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar and is today called Dunbar Vocational High School. In 1945, he joined the United States Army near the conclusion of World War II. He served honorably in Japan, the Philippines, and various locations in Asia before returning to Chicago. In 1951, he married Rosie Hodges and together they raised six children. He studied mathematics and business administration at Wilson College, which was later renamed Kennedy King College. To support his family, he worked for the utility Con Edison, ultimately retiring as a supervisor.

By 1955, Mr. Hodges was a licensed minister in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC). He described his religious transformation as an epiphany, a gradual awakening that resulted from his study of scripture. The Pentecostal faith, like most Christian sects, focused extensively on concepts such as: heaven and hell, sin and forgiveness, and most importantly, Jesus. The questions that were burning in his mind, questions that were not being answered in the church were: Who are we? What is our relationship to the people in the Bible? And how does our religion address the realities of our lives on this earth? Through prayer and research, Rabbi Hodges concluded that the Bible is about the relationship between the “Children of Israel” and their God. Moreover, he came to understand how he could be an actual descendant of the Israelites. In fact, he saw how scripture explained and predicted all the things—including enslavement—that happened to his people.

Rabbi Hodges was not alone in this new revelation. Other ministers of the COGIC who were being “awakened” during this time were Rabbi Robert Devine, Rabbi Richard Nolan, and Rabbi W.O. Young. The COGIC was not willing to accept what these ministers were learning. As a consequence, they left at various points and started their own Israelite congregations. In 1965, Rabbi Hodges became the founder of the House of Israel Temple of Faith and the Hebrew Israelite Center of Culture. 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 his plays were first performed within the walls of that synagogue. The building was tragically destroyed by fire in 2018.

Rabbi Hodges was a bridge; he spent his life trying to unite the Israelite community and the larger Jewish world. He attempted to work with every Israelite group of his generation from the Kingdom of Yah to the Righteous Branch of African Hebrews. In the early 1960s, he met Rabbi Abihu Reuben, a Black rabbi  in Chicago who was ordained by Chief Rabbi W.A. Matthew, who founded the first Black synagogue in America  in Harlem, New York in 1919.  Rabbi Reuben’s “Congregation of Ethiopian Hebrews” had excellent Black teachers of the Hebrew language in the persons of Rabbi Green and Rabbi Lazurus.  As a result of this association, Rabbi Hodges became more acquainted with normative forms of Judaism. He began wearing a tallit, kippah, and most significantly, calling himself “rabbi” instead of “prophet.” In 1967, Rabbi Hodges became one of the founders and officers of the United Council of Hebrew Israelites; Rabbi Devine was its President. Together they attempted to improve relations with the White Jewish community during a very tumultuous time in history. This group formed a brief alliance with Rabbi Ralph Simon of Congregation Rodfei Zedek and Rabbi Steve Jacobs—two of Chicago’s Progressive rabbis. (As President of the Rabbinical Assembly, Rabbi Simon invited Dr. Martin Luther King to speak at the RA convention in 1968, a few days before his assassination). Together they encouraged the growing interest that African Americans had in Judaism by holding forums, lectures, and inviting the children of Black Jews to attend Jewish summer camps for the first time. Later the Chicago Board of Rabbis would be the first such board to admit Black rabbis when it invited Rabbi Capers Shmuel Funnye to become a member.

In the 1970s, Rabbi Hodges became the titular leader of Chicago’s Black rabbis with the International Israelite Board of Rabbis in New York City. He was highly respected by Rabbi Hailu Paris, Rabbi Yahonatan, Rabbi Tate and by all of his peers  throughout the United States. Because of his dedication, wisdom, and organizational skills, Rabbi Hodges rose quickly through the ranks. First he became Secretary of the IIBR and in 1982, he was elected President. Chief Rabbi Levi Levy held Rabbi Hodges in the highest esteem. Like Rabbi Hodges, Rabbi Levi Levy followed a similar path from Christian churches to Rabbinic Judaism. Chief Rabbi Levy assumed that Rabbi Hodges would eventually abandon all New Testament theology and notions of Christology as all other members of the IIBR had done. In 2,000, Rabbi Sholom Levy was elected President of the IIBR. Shortly thereafter, Rabbi Hodges explained that his theology had not changed during the previous decade. He fully understood that the IIBR was committed to a rabbinic form of Judaism that valued diversity but also had boundaries. He agreed to sever his formal membership in the IIBR while pledging his undying love for us and support for our common goals.

One of the most remarkable things about the long and distinguished life of Rabbi Hodges is the way in which he was able to rise above theological differences, forgive personal failing in others, and love everyone without condition to the very end. In the final years of his life, Rabbi Hodges became a trusted advisor to Chief Rabbi Capers Funnye who deeply valued their friendship. Even as his health began to fail, even after several heart operations, Rabbi Hodges continued to attend annual functions and support our movement. His example taught us what love looks like and feels like when it is put into action.