Searching for Vocabulary

“It’s getting harder to describe what’s happening around us,” a fellow-learner recently said. She added, “It’s like we’ve lost a vocabulary for talking about what we’re living through. Kind of like all the terms have been used-up.” 

She wasn’t just talking about how others recklessly fling around words like genocide or hate-crime, she was also talking about us. You and me. About how hard it’s getting to convey lived experiences. The things you find painful. Disheartening. Dangerous. 

Perhaps we can get some help from how the Torah describes our journey from slavery to freedom. In the beginning, when Egyptian taskmasters embitter our lives, we groan. When they oppress us, we cry out (Ex. 2:23). Although God responds to our groans and cries, we aren’t expressing ourselves clearly. It’s only later on, with the arrival of freedom, when we can sing and tell stories with clarity. It’s only after we’re reclining as free people at the Seder, when we can articulate our hopes. 

Maybe instead of struggling to describe what worries you, tell a story. Tell of something that just happened to you. Let those listening provide you, by way of their response, with chances to clarify. Or maybe you can respond to the story someone else tells. 

Many of us are also well-versed in reading faces. Creases in foreheads can be very expressive. Not only after tasting something bitter inside something sweet, but also when singing a favorite song. 

As we searched last night for morsels of leaven, we now search for words to express our worries. And our dreams. May tomorrow night’s Seder offer you new modes for conveying our feelings and hopes. And may it contribute to blessing our people with more dignified outcomes in the season ahead.