The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur tonight. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.
R' Frand began tonight's parsha vort by first quoting from the tefillah said quietly by the tzibbur during the final chanting of the Kohanim during Birkas Kohanim. It includes a phrase which I have never thought about before, in which we ask to be given to Chen and Chessed the way that Yosef was when his father dressed him in the Kesones Passim. R' Frand asked the obvious question - when did Yosef engender Chen and Chessed after being given the Kesones Passim? The Torah states immediately after Yosef receives the Kesones Passim וַיִּרְא֣וּ אֶחָ֗יו כִּֽי־אֹת֞וֹ אָהַ֤ב אֲבִיהֶם֙ מִכָּל־אֶחָ֔יו וַיִּשְׂנְא֖וּ אֹת֑וֹ וְלֹ֥א יָֽכְל֖וּ דַּבְּר֥וֹ לְשָׁלֹֽם !
R' Frand also noted that the order of the pesukim seems to be out of order. After first reciting that Yaakov lived in Canaan, the Torah states that the brothers hated Yosef and that Yaakov loved him. The order should have been reversed. Furthermore the word love by Ya'akov to Yosef is written in past tense.
R' Frand quoted the sefer B'Tzel Ha'Eshel written by his former roommate R' Shmuel Irons who is Rosh Kollel for the Lakewood Kollel in Detroit, which answers these questions.
He began by setting a scenario - a parent loves all his children and sees all their talents. But if he has a child with exceptional talents and brilliance, the father may give him special attention. And this in circumstance, Yosef demonstrated such brilliance as all of what Ya'akov learned from age 60-77 in the Yeshiva of Shem & Ever, Yosef understood at the tender age of 17.
The brothers looked at Yosef and said - he is an exceptional child if he can understand all this. They saw him as a young Rabbinical scholar. Ya'akov then gave him semicha and the Kesones Passim was a cloak of the Rabbinate which he deserved to wear.
But the brothers had an issue when after this Yosef was acting like a Na'ar with the sons of the Shefachos. He was combing his hair in the mirror and then he told Lashon Hara to his father about them. Is this the way a Rabbi should act?
And despite the actions which were below his stature, Ya'akov's view of Yosef did not change - it was still the same love. And the brothers saw this and it bothered them even more.
Thus the Chen and Chessed which the tefillah discusses by Yosef and Ya'akov was real at the time that the Kesones Passim was given, because the brother were not jealous of his role when he was acting the part of the young Rabbinical scholar. But when he acted below his stature and Ya'akov did not change, that was what angered him.
R' Frand said a second vort related to the episode where Yosef was looking for his brothers and came across the angel who told him his brothers were in Dosan. The Ramban explains that when Yosef was looking for his brothers and could not find them, he had the ability to come back to his father and say - I legitimately can't find them. In fact, this is what should have happened - its a big country and I can't locate them.
But that's not what happened - because the gezeira was true and the plans are false. Hashem wanted this to happen and all the "if only" statements that we make should not change anything, because the gezeira is what it is.
R' Frand told two stories, one which was in a prior Teshuva Derasha and another which is new (to me). There was a story told about R' Mottel and another Jew who were deep in discussion in Torah on a train and missed their stop. When they got off at the next stop, the other Jew said - we are lost. R' Mottel said - we are not lost, because this is where Hashem wanted us to be.
As they were crossing the tracks to wait for the train back to their destination, they were approached by another Jew who asked - are either of you a Mohel? The Mohel who was supposed to come to do the bris today could not make it and this is the day. The other Jew with R' Mottel happened to be a Mohel and did the bris. And R' Mottel said to him - you see, we are not lost. We are here because Hashem wanted us to be here.
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