‘How can we unite our divided nation?’ A question to ponder this Passover.

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There are no stupid questions. That’s what I’ve always told my sons, and what we hope all children hear from parents, teachers and faith leaders. It’s also what Jewish children learn when they participate in the Passover Seder, a meal that commemorates the Book of Exodus when Moses led the enslaved Israelites out of bondage.

On Passover, which starts at sunset on Saturday and ends at nightfall on April 20, countless Jewish children will ask the Four Questions during the Seder. The first is “Why is this night different from all other nights?” As matzah and bitter herbs are served, families retell, relive and reflect on the suffering of the Israelites and their road to freedom. The answers remind us that our ancestors fled in haste once Pharaoh finally let the people go. We learn that despite sorrow and struggle, there is always a path forward, if we have faith.

The Exodus story is a journey many people can relate to. As a Black Jewish mother, when my kids were young, I showed them how it connects to the African American fight for equality. Just as the Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years before reaching the Promised Land, systemic barriers in the U.S. remain, but we will persevere.

While it takes faith that we will continue to make progress, we can still ask tough questions to challenge the status quo. After all, Moses did. Exodus 5:22 recounts: “Moses returned to the Lord and said, ‘Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people?’ ”

For any of us, whether we look at our ancestral story or our current situation such as our career, our health or our close relationships, we all should be able to see the similarities. Perhaps you’ve had your own questions, like “why me, why us, why now?”

Knowing many of us can relate, there is one question we should all ask this year: “How can we unite our divided nation?”

Just like in the story of Exodus, liberation is not a solo journey. No one left Egypt alone. Once in the desert, sure, they struggled with faith, with fear, with fragility. And yet, they found a way to keep moving forward, together.

Today in America, including here in Minnesota, we’re seeing a rise in antisemitism, a rise in Islamophobia, a rise in xenophobia and an overall rise in resistance to racial and gender equity initiatives. This is tearing our country apart. We need to find a way to model, for the sake of our children, what it means to be a united community.

Unity is not about severing friendships because of someone they voted for.

Unity is not about dismissing someone’s lived experience of racism, sexism or identity.

Unity is not about cheering when a college student’s visa is revoked.

Unity is not about scrawling hateful graffiti on a mosque or a synagogue.

Unity is having the courage to listen with empathy, even when you don’t agree.

When I was in graduate school, my adviser used to tell us that being a journalist gave us a metaphorical license to ask anyone anything. It doesn’t mean people have to answer, but when they do, we should do more than listen; we should attempt to see their perspective.

In this era of social media, we are all content producers, but we need to pause before posting. We need to ask the hard questions and stay in the room for the answers. We need to see past our own reflection and into someone else’s reality. We need to say, “I may not fully understand your experience, but I hear you and I see why it matters.”

When reporting a story after the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, I interviewed Americans on all sides of the conflict — pro-Palestinian, pro-Israel and neutral. Some people wondered how I, as a Jew, could write this story. Some assumed I was being used by a “liberal media” to slant the coverage one way or the other; others believed I shouldn’t interview anyone who was Muslim. I’d like to think that my finished piece, published in a national media outlet, was fair and well-balanced. I spoke with each side. I heard their position. I felt their pain.

In those interviews, I wasn’t trying to solve centuries of conflict. I was trying to be present. If there’s one thing this moment in history demands of us, it’s listening with compassion, even when it’s hard.

Whether around the world or right here at home, we will not always agree, and we don’t have to. But we should be able to agree that everyone deserves dignity. We should be able to agree that hate has no place in our schools, houses of worship or workplaces. And we should be able to agree that the journey toward unity requires both faith and empathy so we can walk together: less divided, more united.

This Passover, no matter your religious, political or personal beliefs, may we remember the ancient path of our religious ancestors and the faith of our more recent ones. May we hear our neighbors and meet them with empathy and understanding. And may we ask one another, with sincerity, “How can we unite?”

Sheree R. Curry is the co-president of the National Association of Black Journalists Minnesota (NABJ-MN), formerly known as the Twin Cities Black Journalists. She also wears many other hats, including covering news about corporate America for national media outlets. Follow her @shereecurry on LinkedIn.