Richard Bernstein, a former correspondent and critic for The New York Times whose deep knowledge of Asia and Europe illuminated reporting from Tiananmen Square to the Bastille, and who wrote things as he saw them in 10 books driven by intellectual curiosity, died on March 31in Manhattan. He was 80.

In more than two decades at The Times, Mr. Bernstein brought deep historical knowledge, a gracious writing style, and a stubborn contrarian streak to subjects as diverse as the meaning of the French Revolution, the nature of Chinese authoritarianism, the 1993 World Trade Center bombing trial, and the significance of parentheses in the politics of academic language.

Although not religious he joined a Torah study group late in life, intent on exploring the meaning of his Jewishness.

Jeremiah Ostriker, an astrophysicist who helped set off a revolution in humankind’s view of the universe, revealing it to be as vaster, darker realm than the one we can see, ruled by invisible forms of matter and energy we still don’t understand, died on April 13 at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He was 87.

For more than four decades, mostly at Princeton University, Dr. Ostriker’s work altered our understanding of how galaxies form and evolve as he explored the nature of pulsars, the role of black holes in the evolution of the cosmos, and what the universe is made of. He won the National Medal of Science in 2000.

According to Dr. Martin Rees, a cosmologist at the University of Cambridge and the Astronomer Royal, Dr. Ostriker would come up with pioneering ideas on novel themes. “He inspired younger colleagues and collaborators, not just at Princeton but around the world.”

Robert S. Rifkind, who played a pivotal role in successfully defending Time magazine against a $50 million libel suit filed by Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli general, defense minister and, later, prime minister, died on March 12 at his home in Manhattan. He was 88.

Mr. Sharon’s suit was prompted by a single paragraph in the Feb. 21, 1983 issue of Time. It referred to an Israeli government report on the massacre months earlier by Christian Phalange militiamen of at least 800 and as many as 3,500 civilian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon. The massacre happened after Israel invaded Lebanon and the Phalange leader was assassinated. The article suggested that Mr. Sharon had sought revenge and that the Israelis looked the other way when the Phalangists attacked.

The jury found in 1985 that Time had misrepresented Mr. Sharon’s role in the massacre, but concluded that the magazine’s reporting did not meet the legal threshold for libel because it did not publish the article with actual malice or a reckless disregard for the facts.

According to the New York Times, reporters trying to get interviews with Steven Spielberg would sometimes grouse that his publicist’s job amounted to speaking a single word: “No.”

But Marvin Levy, who served as Mr. Spielberg’s publicist for 42 years, was responsible for much more than body blocking reporters. Mr. Spielberg did not become Mr. Spielberg bccause of his filmmaking alone: Mr. Levy was behind the scenes — promoting, polishing, spinning, safeguarding, strategizing — to ensure that his boss was viewed worldwide as Hollywood’s de facto head of state.

In addition to representing him personally, Mr. Levy helped devise and lead publicity campaigns for 32 movies that Mr. Spielberg directed. Mr. Levy received an honorary Oscar in 2018 for his work.

Mr. Levy died on April 7 at his home in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles, after a 73-year entertainment career. He was 96.

Rick Levine, an award-winning television commercial director who brought a big-screen sensibility to the small screen with widely celebrated spots, died on March 11 at his home in Marina del Rey, CA, age 94.

Mr. Levine won a total of four Clio Awards — advertising’s equivalent of the Oscars — for Super Bowl ads for Diet Pepsi and DuPont. In explaining these success and many others, he told The New York Times, “I attract the story kind of commercial. People don’t come to me just for pictures; they come with stories.”

May he rest in peace.

The Shofar joins the membership in extending condolences to Rochelle Garmise and her family on the death of Stuart Garmise, brother of our beloved shul member, the late Alan Garmise. Stuart died on Feb. 28, and was buried in New Jersey on March 4.