In 2009, my wife and I along with our kids (and big dog) embarked on a journey of our own and moved to Israel. Leaving our comfort zone and all that was familiar was a momentous decision. We moved to the land that God promised to the Jewish people!

When we moved to Israel, going to Israel was what it was all about! Where we came from was irrelevant. It was our journey to our homeland

If you consider the above verse, why does it tell us where the Children of Israel came from, namely Egypt, rather than telling us their destination, the land of Israel (called Canaan) which is of course far more important? . We need to understand this.

In life, there are always many paths in front of us to choose from. Ultimately, it is your decisions and which direction you choose to go that makes all the difference and is what differentiates you.

The Israelites all started out the same. They were freed from Egypt, saw the same ten plagues, and crossed the through the Red Sea miraculously together.

Though it began with a common experience, on their journey to God’s promised land, they would each have to make their own decisions along the way. Each person had to decide would they participate in the Golden Calf? Would they believe the spies? Would they join the rebellion of Korach? Would they join in complaining against God and Moses?

The starting point, the exodus from Egypt, was the same but everything after that was up to each person to choose their own course.

Therefore, the Torah says in the verse “…who left Egypt.” It was only the leaving of Egypt that they had in common. The forty-year journey afterwards is what differentiated each person.

There are many things and experiences that we all have in common. What life really boils down to is not so much about what you experience and the events of your life—-it is all about the choices you make on the journey and how you react that transforms you into who you are.