In the beginning of Parashat Beshalah, the Torah informs us that as Beneh Yisrael left Egypt, Moshe ensured to bring with him the bones of Yosef, who had died many years earlier: ויקח משה את עצמות יוסף עמו (13:19). Moshe did this in fulfillment of Yosef’s command to his brothers before he died, that his remains should be brought out of Egypt and be buried in the Land of Israel. Why is it important for us to know? Why, amid all the drama of Yetziat Mitzrayim , did the Torah find it necessary to inform us that Yosef’s remains accompanied them as they went out into the desert? We can answer this question by taking a quick look at Yosef’s extraordinary life. When he was young, he enjoyed a wonderful life, as his father’s most beloved child, and receiving special gifts. But, on the other hand, his brothers despised him. His dreams of leadership could not be realized. It was only many years later, after being thrown into a pit, sold as a slave, and then imprisoned on false charges, that Yosef emerged as a leader. As long as his life was easy, he could not achieve greatness. It was by facing and overcoming adversity that Yosef actualized his full potential and fulfilled his mission. The opening pasuk of Parashat Beshalah tells us that Hashem specifically chose NOT to lead Beneh Yisrael along the direct route to Eretz Yisrael , and instead brought them through the desert. This was going to be a long, difficult, complicated process. But this was how they would become a great nation and fulfill the mission for which they were brought out of Egypt. This might be why this opening pasuk begins, ויהי בשלח פרעה את העם – referring to Beneh Yisrael as העם , “the nation,” and not as בני ישראל . It is only at the end of the next pasuk , after the Torah tells that Hashem decided to bring the people through the desert, that they are referred to by name – וחמושים עלו בני ישראל מארץ מצרים . Just leaving Egypt did not turn the people into בני ישראל , into a special nation with a special connection to Hashem. This happened only over the course of their difficult journey through the desert. It is by overcoming challenges that we attain greatness. This is the significance of Yosef’s bones accompanying Beneh Yisrael through the desert. They were reminded of Yosef’s story; they were shown that greatness is attained by enduring the “desert,” by facing challenging circumstances and overcoming them. The Mishnah in Pirkeh Avot (6:4) teaches: כך היא דרכה של תורה: פת במלח תאכל ומים במשורה תשתה ועל הארץ תישן וחיי צער תחיה ובתורה אתה עמל. This is the path of Torah: You eat bread with salt, you drink water in small quantities, you sleep on the floor, and you live uncomfortable lives – and you labor in Torah. This should not be understood to mean that living a Torah life requires suffering poverty. It does mean, however, that challenges and discomfort are part of the process of growth. If we always have everything we want, if life is always easy, simple and straightforward, then we are not going to grow and achieve greatness. Let us, then, embrace life’s challenges, rather than resent them. When we find ourselves in a “desert,” enduring some difficult circumstance, let us understand that this is an opportunity for us to grow, to realize our full potential, and become the great people that we are expected to become.