Vayeshev

When he reached Shechem, a man came upon him wandering in the fields. The man asked him, “What are you looking for?” He answered, “I am looking for my brothers. Could you tell me where they are pasturing?” The man said, “They have gone from here…”

37:15 – 17

Scripture mentions this at length in order to relate that many events befell him which could properly have caused him to return, but he endured everything patiently for the honor of his father. It also informs us that the Divine decree is true and man’s industry is worthless. The Holy One, blessed be He, sent him a guide without his knowledge in order to bring him into their hands. It is this that our rabbis intended when they said that these men were angels, for these events did not occur without purpose…

Ramban (13^th Century)

Since God did not want to postpone His plan, He assisted Joseph when Joseph left the beaten trail not having found his brothers in Nablus…Joseph imagined that the man who he encountered who seemed to know who he was, would certainly know where his far more famous brothers were…Sometimes God uses the very efforts man makes to thwart His plans as instruments to advance His plans…The apparently superfluous words of the angel “they have moved from here,” give rise to the comment of our sages that they had severed brotherly relations with Joseph…what the man meant to tell Joseph was that the brothers’ departure itself was far more relevant than the place they had moved to.

Akedat Yitzchak (15^th Century)

At any rate, Joseph did not “read between the lines” (of what the angel told him) and understood the meaning of his words to be simply that they had moved to a place called Dotan and went in search of that location…

Rabbenu Bachya (13^th Century)

Joseph had to realize that though he might have dreamed something, this did not commit the characters who appeared in his dream to act in a predetermined manner and to thereby lose their freedom of choice. Moreover, he might even have erred in his interpretation of what the events in his dream represented. Seeing that the angel was aware that God wanted Joseph to end up in Egypt, he did not suggest that Joseph return home, mission unaccomplished. Joseph did not want to go home…

Moshe Alshich (15^th Century)

When the brothers threw Joseph into the pit, the exile began – not just Joseph’s personal exile from his father’s house and the Land of Israel. From that dark empty pit began the exile of the entire Jewish people to Egypt.

Abraham Isaac Kook (20^th Century)

When Joseph is sold by his brothers, God sent His angel along to protect Joseph on his various journeys…We have a tradition that when the Jewish people descended into Egypt, the Shechinah accompanied them. Something similar occurred before every other exile; in this particular instance, God inspired Joseph before the rest of his father’s family came to Egypt…

Isaiah Horowitz (16^th Century)