ROBERT RIFKIND

RIFKIND--Robert S., died peacefully at his home in Manhattan on March 12. The son of Adele and Simon Rifkind, Bob was born in New York City in 1936. He attended high school at the Loomis School and in 1958 graduated from Yale College, summa cum laude, with a BA in history, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was the Class Day speaker. In 1961, he graduated from Harvard Law School and joined Cravath, Swaine & Moore as an associate. That year he also married Arleen Brenner, the light of his life and his adored and adoring partner for the next 59 years until her death in 2021. In 1965, they moved to Washington where Bob spent three years as an Assistant to the Solicitor General under Thurgood Marshall in the United States Department of Justice, after which they returned to New York. Bob rejoined Cravath, where he was a member of the litigation group for the remainder of his professional life, becoming a partner in 1971. Bob loved the practice of law. He also believed deeply in service and communal engagement. In addition to his legal career, he devoted considerable time to educational and Jewish institutions serving on numerous boards including those of The Dalton School (President, 1977-1979, Honorary Trustee, 1983-2025), the Loomis Chafee School, Brandeis University (Trustee Emeritus), Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Charles H. Revson Foundation (Chairman, 1997-2003), Celebrate 350: Jewish Life in America (Chairman), Schecter Institute for Jewish Studies (former Chair), The Jerusalem Foundation, Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, the United Nations Foundation, Advisory Counsel of the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights, The American Jewish Committee (President, 1994-1998) and The Jewish Theological Seminary. To all of his endeavors, professional, communal and personal, he brought his striking intellect, clarity of thought, deep belief in pluralism and democratic institutions, and good humor. In addition to Arleen, Bob was predeceased by his brother Richard Rifkind. He is survived by his and Arleen's daughters and sons-in-law Amy Rifkind (Bruce Brown) and Nina Rifkind (Marc Lerner) and by five grandchildren (Rebecca and Samuel Rifkind-Brown and Shoshana, David, and Lily Rifkind-Lerner), who kept the world bright for him. Gifts in his memory can be made to the Center for Jewish History (cjh.org) or Marlboro Music Festival www.marlboromusic.org