Elul Blog Day 2

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Today the press shared a story about a young woman in Salt Lake City who delivered her baby and disposed of the newborn in her neighbor’s garbage bin. The baby was found by someone who thought she heard a kitten’s cry. Olya and I discussed how someone could do this to their baby, especially in a state that allows for havens to drop off children… I thought about the rush of hormones coursing through a new mother’s body, coupled with the shame of becoming pregnant while unmarried in a community that is highly “moralistic.” Shame clouds our better judgment, causes us to try to deny our behavior. Hormones confuse our thinking. Delivering a baby alone must be terrifying. Yet how do we discard a baby as if she were trash? Is the combination of shame, hormones and stress so powerful we lose regard for human life? How do we overcome these powerful forces to be the guardians of human life? For lesser crimes, as well as greater crimes, we have to face the shadow… Elul 2. Now is the time.