Life is a balance between fending for ourselves and contributing to society. On the surface these two ideas are contradictions, but Pesach teaches us how these two extremes complement and enhance each other. One of the recurring themes of the Seder is the fact that the centerpiece of the Seder is missing. In preparation for redemption G-d commanded the Israelites to prepare a Pesach sacrifice. Each family was to purchase a sheep, tie it to their bedpost for four days, slaughter it on the 14th of Nissan and roast and eat it on the eve of the 15th of Nissan in their homes together with Matzah and Marror. The next morning the long anticipated exodus arrived and the Jewish nation was born. For generations to come the miracle of Pesach would be commemorated by families and groups offering a Pesach sacrifice on the day before Pesach, roasted and eaten on the first night of Pesach together with Matzah and Marror. Unlike the first Pesach in Egypt, the Pesach sacrifice can only be done in the Beit Hamikdash in Jerusalem, hence this centerpiece has been missing from our Seders for close to 2,000 years. But we continue to learn about it and discover important life lessons for here and now. There were two categories of sacrifices offered in the Beit Hamikdash: Communal and personal. Communal sacrifices were purchased from the account every Jew contributed a half shekel annually and personal sacrifices were purchased privately. The Pesach sacrifice is unique in that it had both private and communal characteristics. It was purchased with private funds but was offered in the Beit Hamikdash in large groups and every Jew was obligated to do the same thing at the same time in the same way. The message is clear. Every individual is capable of and expected to sacrifice their personal interests for the enfit of the community, and the community is obligated to put everything on the line for the benefit of every individual. Sounds like a contradiction? Perhaps. But the name of the sacrifice is “Pesach” which means to “leap over.” Upon confronting obstacles one needs to jump, and there is no greater obstacle than our personal interests that separate us from each other and from the community at large. We have the power to rise above it all by tapping into our essence, rooted in divine truth, causing all other issues to become irrelevant and disappear as we unite as one. Let’s focus on tuning into our “Pinteleh Yid” - our Jewish essence - by adding in Torah learning and Mitzvah observance just because, thereby allowing us to unite with world Jewry and prepare the universe for the final and complete redemption.