The Time of the "Times"
"The Children of Israel shall observe the Sabbath, to make the Sabbath an eternal covenant for their generations."" (Weekly Parsha, Shmot 31:16)
We don’t know what will happen in the year 2100. It is impossible to predict the future. But of one thing you can be certain. That in the year 2100 Jewish women will be lighting Sabbath candles."
This is what the Irish Catholic production manager of the New York Times answered when asked why he included Sabbath lighting times in the prestigious paper's Millennium edition published on January 1, 2000. This special issue featured three front pages – the news from January 1, 1900, the actual news of the day, January 1, 2000, and a third front-page projecting future events of January 1, 2100.
The idea came from a front-page paid ad (at a cost of almost $2,000 a week), which a Jewish philanthropist sponsored each week for five years until June, 1999. No one, however, paid for the inclusion of candle lighting time for New York for January 1, 2100. It was put in by the Times as a tribute to Israel forever.
