April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
OUR NEIGHBORS' FAITH
Interfaith institute turns 30
Thirty years ago, it seemed like an excellent time to create a center to study relationships between Judaism and Christianity in the Capital District. Most of the world's great churches were engaged in understanding this relationship; the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council was only 20 years old, and the implications of its "Nostra Aetate" document for Catholic-Jewish relations and for Catholic theology were beginning to be examined.
The State of Israel filled a positive place in Jewish-Christian dialogue; the first intifada, which began a testing period in the history of dialogue, was years away.
The local community was already enjoying positive relationships among its Jewish, Catholic and Protestant citizens. Jews and Christians had joined in three interfaith tours: to Israel, Rome and Geneva.
Local leaders were ahead of the curve in promoting dialogue. The historic "From Fear to Friendship" worship service that would be held at Albany's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in 1986 was already in the planning stages; friends had been meeting for years in Catholic-Jewish dialogue.
The Kieval Institute was founded when Rabbi Hayyim Kieval, senior rabbi of Temple Israel in Albany, was looking for a challenge. Siena College had established credibility with the Jewish community of the Capital District, so Temple Israel approached the college with an interest in making Rabbi Kieval available to Siena.
Some organizers assumed that Rabbi Kieval would simply join the Siena faculty in an endowed chair, but no one was willing to contribute enough funds - or convinced this was the wisest use of his talents. Besides his scholarship in Jewish liturgy, he had a large network of colleagues in the scholarly world.
We concluded that Rabbi Kieval should organize a series of colloquia in which the best Jewish and Christian scholars, nationally and internationally, could discuss academic subjects.
In addition to offering lectures, participants would visit the Siena campus and make themselves available to the college and the community for discussion.
This was a simple idea, but an effective one. The Kieval Institute has brought outstanding scholars to the Capital Region every year, discussing topics at a high academic level. These colloquia have attracted visitors from throughout the region for formal presentations and informal discussions over brunch.
The college has adjusted to a new role as a significant player in the field of Jewish-Christian studies. New books for the library - many, purchased with donations from those who enjoyed the offerings of the Kieval Institute - formed the core of the library's Kieval collection, a resource for scholarship in Jewish-Christian studies.
When a student in Siena's HEOP program for needy students asked for support from the Institute to participate in the religious studies department's annual study tour - that year, to Israel and Jordan - a letter to the Institute's mailing list produced nearly enough to support a HEOP student in this for every year since.
New programs for the Kieval Institute beget new programs elsewhere. When the Town of Colonie Jewish Association was looking for a location for an annual spring lecture series, the Institute became the sponsor of the Town of Colonie Jewish Association Lecture.
Hayyim Kieval died in 1991 and was succeeded as chair of the Kieval Institute by Rabbi Bernard Bloom, who had initiated Judaic studies at Siena decades earlier. Rabbi Bloom was succeeded by Rabbi Rena Kieval of Congregation Ohav Shalom in Albany.
When the Institute was founded, it was simply called the Institute for Jewish-Christian Studies at Siena College. With the death of Rabbi Kieval, his name was added to its title; after the passing of his widow, Esther - an inspiration to the Institute - it was renamed the Hayyim and Esther Kieval Institute for Jewish-Christian Studies at Siena College.
The Kieval Institute supports interfaith issues in the Capital Region through the board of the Sidney Albert lecture series at The College of Saint Rose in Albany. It supports student groups at Siena exploring interfaith questions through the Damietta Multicultural Center. It makes speakers available to congregations and other groups and supports student and faculty research and other educational projects.
This year's 28th annual Kieval Institute Colloquium, Nov. 4-5, will look behind the scenes at Vatican II with presentations by Dr. Philip Cunningham of St. Joseph's University and Judy Banki of the Tannenbaum Center.
The closing remarks will be delivered by Bishop Hubbard, who has delivered the closing remarks for every one of the Institute's colloquia - a fact that brings a lump to my throat.
(Dr. Zaas is a professor of religious studies at Siena College and director of the Kieval Institute. Learn more about the colloquia at www.siena.edu/pages/2179.asp, 783-2361 or [email protected].)[[In-content Ad]]
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