Author’s note: Many thanks to Rab­bi Shmu­lik and Tzivie Green­berg’s 2019 Medi­um arti­cle, New York Times of Jan­u­ary 1, 2100,” for bring­ing renewed atten­tion to this story.

Kyra Lisse is a writer and edi­tor from the Philadel­phia area. She serves as the pro­gram coor­di­na­tor & con­fer­ence direc­tor at Yet­zi­rah: A Hearth for Jew­ish Poet­ry. Her writ­ing has appeared in Ghost City Review, SWWIM, HAD, New Voic­es, Paper Brigade, and Assay: A Jour­nal of Non­fic­tion Stud­ies, among oth­er places. Kyra now lives in Lan­cast­er, PA, where she is an adjunct at work on a memoir.