October 2026
EARLY REFLECTIONS
A few days ago, I marked my first seven months as an NYPD chaplain and as the Shomrim Spiritual Director. So far, the journey has been extremely rewarding and continues to provide me with opportunities to spice up my rabbinical routine, to learn new skills, and to familiarize myself with the NYPD culture, a culture that, as you know, has its codes, lingo, rich history, rituals, and quirks.
Seven months is not a long time, especially if compared with Rabbi Kass’ tenure of almost 60 years of unwavering service. I really thank all of you for your patience as I get to know you better and try to make a difference. Slowly but surely, I am finding my way around One Police Plaza and my chaplain routine, including counseling, command visits, street co-namings, invocations at a variety of events, hospital visits, and more.
In these last seven months, I also had the opportunity to better understand the structure and configuration of the Shomrim Society.
My first (and perhaps obvious) observation is that the Shomrim Society consists of two different constituencies: the active members and the retirees (I like the expression old-timers). Of course, you don’t need a newly appointed chaplain to make such an obvious observation.
However, what I like to point out is that these two different constituencies within the Shomrim Society have many more differences among themselves than an active versus retired status, or the number of years they served on the force.
While we cannot generalize, we can say that most active members are on the young side, are either single, recently married, or have young children. Their schedules are complex, they need to balance NYPD and family demands, and have less discretionary time. The active members are focused on advancing in their NYPD career, perhaps getting a promotion, or simply providing for their family. Many of them are in what we call “the sandwich generation,” starting to deal with elderly or ailing parents. Most of the active members, by virtue of being on the young side, are less patient than some of our older members; they crave change, and they want it fast.
While not every NYPD retiree who is a member of the Shomrim Society can be called an “old timer,” many are, and even those who recently retired from the force have at least 20 years of experience under their belts. Our more seasoned members have a different set of concerns and priorities. Their preoccupation is not with advancing their careers, or with trying to be at home to spend time with their young children. They value experience and tradition and, usually, change doesn’t come easily. They may use the expression “this is how we do things here,” and Shomrim meetings provide them an opportunity to meet with old friends and to remember –and maybe embellish– good old times.
In addition, the background of the active members of the NYPD in 2026 is different from that of the NYPD of 1966, or even 1996; the background of the Jewish members of the force is different as well. Today there is a larger presence of Orthodox Jews, Sephardic Jews, and Jews from the former Soviet Union, as well as an increasing number of unaffiliated Jews among the members of the force. This new reality makes the Shomrim Society more interesting, but it demands from all of us flexibility, patience, graciousness of spirit, and openness of mind to move forward and to thrive.
I hope and pray that I can bring my experience as a community builder to the Shomrim Society, and that together, with kindness, patience, and compassion, we will respond to the needs and priorities of our diverse constituency.
Again, I look forward to getting to know all of you better in the coming months and to making a positive contribution to the Shomrim Society and to the New York City Police Department. May HaShem bless you and your loved ones with only good things.
From My Heart,
Rabbi Manes Kogan