(א) אלה תולדות יעקב.. וְעוֹד נִדְרָשׁ בּוֹ וישב, בִּקֵּשׁ יַעֲקֹב לֵישֵׁב בְּשַׁלְוָה, קָפַץ עָלָיו רָגְזוֹ שֶׁל יוֹסֵף – צַדִּיקִים מְבַקְּשִׁים לֵישֵׁב בְּשַׁלְוָה, אָמַר הַקָּבָּ"ה לֹא דַיָּן לַצַּדִּיקִים מַה שֶּׁמְּתֻקָּן לָהֶם לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא, אֶלָּא שֶׁמְּבַקְּשִׁים לֵישֵׁב בְּשַׁלְוָה בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה:
(1) אלה תלדות יעקב THESE ARE THE PROGENY OF JACOB וישב AND HE ABODE —
Jacob wished to live at ease, but this trouble in connection with Joseph suddenly came upon him. When the righteous wish to live at ease, the Holy one, blessed be He), says to them: “Are not the righteous satisfied with what is stored up for them in the world to come that they wish to live at ease in this world too! (Genesis Rabbah 84:3)
(צט) א״ר יוחנן כל מקום שנאמר וישב אינו אלא לשון צער שנאמר (במדבר כה א) וישב ישראל בשטים ויחל העם לזנות (בראשית לז א) וישב יעקב בארץ מגורי אביו ויבא יוסף את דבתם רעה (שם מז כז) וישב ישראל בארץ מצרים ויקרבו ימי ישראל למות (מ״א ה ה) וישב יהודה וישראל לבטח איש תחת גפנו וגו׳ (שם יא יד) ויקם ה׳ שטן לשלמה וגו׳:
(99) (Num. 25, 1) And Israel abode in Shittim. R. Jochanan said: "Wherever such an expression is to be found it brings infliction. And Israel dwelt in Shittim and the people began to commit incest; (Gen. 37, 1) And Jacob dwelt in the land of his fathers' sojournings, and Joseph brought evil reports of them unto their father. (Ib. 47, 27) And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and (Ib. 29) And the days of Israel drew near that he was to die. (I Kings 4, 5) And every man dwelt in safety, and (Ib. 11, 14) And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite."
(א) ויהי כאשר התעו וגו'. וְאִם תֹּאמַר מַהוּ לְשׁוֹן הִתְעוּ? כָּל הַגּוֹלֶה מִמְּקוֹמוֹ וְאֵינוֹ מְיֻשָּׁב קָרוּי תּוֹעֶה,
(1) 'ויהי כאשר התעו אותי וגו AND IT CAME TO PASS WHEN GOD CAUSED ME TO WANDER etc. If you ask why does it here use the term התעו, I reply, anyone who is exiled from his home and has no settled abode may be styled תועה a wanderer (or “one moving about aimlessly”),
(15) a man came upon him wandering in the fields. The man asked him, “What are you looking for?” (16) He answered, “I am looking for my brothers. Could you tell me where they are pasturing?” (17) The man said, “They have gone from here, for I heard them say: Let us go to Dothan.” So Joseph followed his brothers and found them at Dothan.
Aviva Gottlieb Zornberg, The Beginning of Desire
In the family narrative, what sets the wheels turning is the fact that Joseph was seventeen, a na’ar, a youth, immature in his management of relationships...The word implies much more than biological age: Joseph behaves with the narcissism of youth, with a dangerous unawareness of the inner worlds of others.
The Kotzker Rebbe
The angel taught Joseph--that always when one is wandering along the paths of life, in the moment when the soul is most perplexed, say to oneself that one will clarify that which the soul needs and its ambition, that one may return and explain these needs first of all, to the self.
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook
The greater the soul, the more it must struggle in order to find itself; the more the depths of the human soul are hidden from the conscious mind. One must have extended solitude and hitbodedut (self-reflective prayer), examining ideas, deepening thoughts, and expanding the mind, until finally the soul will truly reveal itself, unveiling some of the splendor of its brilliant inner light.”