Do you ever feel like things “never go your way?” Do you ever feel snowed under by exams, pressures of raising a family – or even being in a family!? Isn’t life hard sometimes? Yes it is! And that is how Hashem made it. He does this in order to challenge us to grow in our midos – our character – in order to become more sensitive, caring and humble individuals, by learning something from the difficult experience. But it is still hard. How do we cope with all of life’s challenges? This week’s Sedra shows us a way.

The Sedra lists 42 places where the Jewish people camped as they travelled for 40 years in the wilderness after they left Egypt until they were ready to cross into Israel. On many of the 42 stops, the Jewish people encountered difficulties and problems. In Marah, they had no water to drink. In Kivroth Hataarah, they complained about the lack of meat. They had to go well out of their way, through Zalmoroh, Punon, Ovot, and Iyei Ha’avarim because the king of Edom refused to let them cross through his country. What did the Jewish people do in response to these problems? Did they sit down and refuse to move on? Did they throw in the towel and give up? No. They followed the clouds of glory – and went on to the next camp. They kept going because they knew Hashem was with them. And this is the lesson we can learn when we face problems on our “journeys” in life.

If you stop at a particular point or difficulty in life, and feel like saying: “this is too hard for me – I can’t go on.” Then remember and become inspired by the Jewish people on their journey. They had problems – but they used a better word for them. They referred to their problems as “challenges” – as hurdles that were sent by Hashem so that they could climb over them. Once you climb over a hurdle, you become a better athlete – stronger and more confident. So don’t get stuck on one hurdle – there is a whole life journey of 42 camps to go through! So look at your challenges in perspective – and keep climbing!