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From: dsg@mhuxi.UUCP (David S. Green)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: A question on parsha Vayeshev
Message-ID: <380@mhuxi.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 12-Dec-85 13:54:02 EST
Article-I.D.: mhuxi.380
Posted: Thu Dec 12 13:54:02 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 13-Dec-85 06:39:55 EST
References: <1683@decwrl.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
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> 
>I will ask the question as best I 
>can without having my chumash in front of me.

I'll try to answer as best as I can without my chumash in front of me.

>Yosef left his father and went to find his brothers. On his 
>way he was wondering aimlessly through a field when "he met a 
>certain man". This man told Yosef that his brothers were not 
>were they were expected to be. The man then said where they 
>were and Yosef went straight to them.
>     
>My question is who is this man and what was it that Yosef was 
>searching for?
> Frederick R. Liss        UUCP ...decvax!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-gramps!liss

The commentary says that "a certain man" or this man was an "angel" I forget
if he was Michael or Gabriel.  The reason that the man was an angel is
because he knew Joseph was looking for his brothers without Joseph having
to ask.  The exact identity of the angel is taken from a similar phrase
"a certain man" elsewhere in the TANACH where the angel is identified.

As to the second part of your question, Joseph had to fulfill the part of
the prophecy that Israel would be enslaved for 400 years.  Joseph kind of
new where he was eventually going and what his "mission" was.   Some say
that Joseph's brothers weren't doing things all that pleasant and that is
why they weren't where they were supposed to be!  So, I don't think that
Joseph was really searching for anything other than the location of his
brothers.  Please note that I recently read the ArtScroll commentary to
the above and there are various interpretations to your question, I am
writing the one I remember best.