What are the different moments in this text where assumptions about intent and impact seem to be intertwined?
The Bad Reports
את דבתם רעה. כָּל רָעָה שֶׁהָיָה רוֹאֶה בְאֶחָיו בְנֵי לֵאָה הָיָה מַגִּיד לְאָבִיו, שֶׁהָיוּ אוֹכְלִין אֵבֶר מִן הַחַי, וּמְזַלְזְלִין בִּבְנֵי הַשְּׁפָחוֹת לִקְרוֹתָן עֲבָדִים, וַחֲשׁוּדִים עַל הָעֲרָיוֹת, וּבִשְׁלָשְׁתָּן לָקָה:
את דבתם רעה THEIR EVIL REPORT — Whatever he saw wrong in his brothers, the sons of Leah, he reported to his father: that they used to eat flesh cut off from a living animal, that they treated the sons of the handmaids with contempt, calling them slaves, and that they were suspected of living in an immoral manner. With three such similar matters he was therefore punished...
With regard to Yosef's bad reports on his brothers, how might we disentangle the intent from the impact:
What did Yosef's brothers actually say or do?
What was the impact of their actions on Yosef?
Based on that impact, what assumptions did Yosef make about what the brothers intended?
"The Child of Old Age"
כי בן זקונים הוא לו שנולד לו בעת זקנתו ואונקלוס תרגם ארי בר חכים הוא ליה שכל מה שלמד משם ועבר מסר לו דבר אחר שהיה זיו איקונין שלו דומה לו לשון רש"י וכן אמר רבי אברהם כי בן זקונים שהולידו לזקוניו והוא בן תשעים ואחת שנה וגם אחיו בנימין קראו ילד זקונים קטן ואיננו נכון בעיני כי הכתוב אמר שאהב את יוסף מכל בניו בעבור שהוא בן זקונים וגם כל בניו נולדו לו בזקוניו והנה יששכר וזבולון אינם גדולים מיוסף רק כשנה או שנתים והנראה בעיני כי מנהג הזקנים שיקחו אחד מבניהם הקטנים להיות עמו לשרתו והוא נשען על ידו תמיד לא יפרד ממנו והוא נקרא לו בן זקוניו בעבור שישרתו לזקוניו והנה לקח יעקב את יוסף לדבר הזה והיה עמו תמיד ועל כן לא ילך עם הצאן ברעותם במקום רחוק
BECAUSE HE WAS THE SON OF HIS OLD AGE. That is, he was born to him during his old age. Onkelos translated: “he was a wise son to him,” for all that he had learned from Shem and Eber he transmitted to him. Another interpretation is that the facial features of Joseph were similar to those of Jacob. This is Rashi’s language. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra also explains it in this way: “Because he was the son of old age — for he begot him in his old age when he was ninety-one years old. They likewise called his brother Benjamin a little child of his old age. “
But in my opinion this is not correct for the verse states that Jacob loved Joseph more than all his children because he was the son of his old age, whereas all his children were born to him during his old age! Issachar and Zebulun were not more than a year or two older than Joseph.
The correct interpretation appears to me to be that it was the custom of the elders to take one of their younger sons to be with them to attend them. He would constantly lean on his arm, never being separated from him, and he would be called ben z’kunav because he attended him in his old age. Now Jacob took Joseph for this purpose, and he was with him constantly. He therefore did not accompany the flock when they went to pasture in distant places.
What are the various ways that actions/impacts/assumptions may be leading the brothers to their hypothesis that Yaakov loved Yosef the most?
The Dreams
ויספר אותו לאחיו. זהו מעשה נערות שראה שקנאו וכעסו על הראשון וספר להם השני...
This was an act of immaturity in that [Yosef] saw that they were jealous and angry after the first dream and still continued to tell them the second dream...
Based on "Difficult Conversations," how might Yosef have attended to his brothers response after the first dream before continuing to share his second dream?