Rabbi Alvin Kass, the NYPD’s beloved chaplain and longest serving member of the department ever, was remembered as the “moral heart” of New York’s Finest at a tear-filled funeral Friday.
The Jewish leader — known for bravely rushing to ground zero on 9/11 — was honored by a sea of police officers and city officials at the service.
“Few people have lived a life more fully in service of others,” Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a heartfelt speech.
Rabbi Alvin Kass was remembered as the “moral heart” of New York’s Finest at a tearful funeral Friday. NYPD“Rabbi Kass devoted nearly 60 years to its people — long enough to see generations of officers come and go and yet he never seemed to age in spirit,” she said at the service, held at East Midwood Jewish Center in Brooklyn.
“His faith stayed young, his compassion stayed sharp and his devotion to the people of this city never once dimmed.”
Kass, who died Wednesday at age 89, rushed to ground zero on 9/11 to give cops spiritual guidance on the worst day of their lives and offered them emotional support for decades.
In 1981, he made headlines when he was called to negotiate with a Jewish man who had taken a woman hostage — and ended up disarming the hungry hostage-taker with pastrami sandwiches from the Carnegie Deli.
Hundreds of cops gathered to pay respect at Kass’s funderal. Michael Nagle
Mayor Eric Adams attended the funeral. Michael NagleHe joined the police force in 1966 at age 30 after serving in the US Air Force, becoming the youngest chaplain in department history at the time.
Mayor Eric Adams, who is a former cop, and Attorney General Letitia James were among hundreds who paid respect to the spiritual hero at the funeral Friday.
