"And Jacob departed from Beersheba and went to Haran."
Jacob leaves his parents' house and heads down to Haran to start his family. Upon arriving in Haran, he suddenly realizes that he had bypassed the spot where his grandfather Abraham had prayed, and offered a sacrifice, the place where his father Isaac prayed and was bound upon the altar.
Jacob said: "Could it be the spot where they prayed, and I did not stop to pray?"
Immediately, he headed back to the Land of Israel and came upon Mount Moriah in Jerusalem.
When he came to the Temple Mount, he heard voices. Listening, he heard them say: "Make way for the mighty Jacob". He then realized that he was listening to a conversation by the angels in heaven. He then understood that he was at the site that connects heaven and earth: "Surely Hashem is in this place and I did not know. How awesome is this place, this is none other than the House of G-d, and this is the gate of heaven."
For this reason, our Rabbis teach us that the earthly Temple is aligned opposite the heavenly Temple.
Jacob recognized this as the place where Heaven and Earth meet, the spot where angels "go up" to Heaven on the wings of our prayers and angels "come down" with blessings and sustenance for the whole world.
The Ramchal, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, brings this point home by explaining that all blessing and sustenance come to us from above, from the site of the holy Temple in Jerusalem: "There is a special place where all these roots come together. In that place is the root of all things. In that place are the roots of the earth and all it contains, the heavens, the heavens of the heavens and all their hosts without exception. In the place where all these roots come together, in the middle, there is a single stone. This stone is most precious. It possesses every kind of beauty and charm. It is called the Foundation Stone."
Could we bypass this holy site and not return, as opposed to what Jacob did?
Our Rabbis in the Mishna teach us that ten levels of holiness descended onto the world - the lowest level being the entire Land of Israel; next comes walled cities in Israel; then, the next eight levels are all on top of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, no matter that the Temple is in ruins.
Imagine the intensity of holiness coming forth from the Mount. If one were able to feel it, surely he would faint, as we find that when our ancestors received the Torah on Mount Sinai, their souls left them.
With such greatness right at our fingertips and such easy access to this spiritual wellspring today. why would anyone not want to be as close as possible to this source? Could we bypass this holy site and not return, as opposed to what Jacob did?
But this is exactly what many of us do. Many of our brethren remain in the exile, not only removed from this holiness, the source, the flowing blessing - but they drown in the quicksand of impurities in the Galut. Many remain attached to an outer "wall" of the Temple Mount, missing out on the eight levels of holiness that flow from the Mount, preferring to hold onto an outer shell and not enjoy the real thing.
Not only do they miss out for themselves, but they are the cause for the Mount not returning to our hands, ensuring the continuation of the great desecration of G-d's Name of leaving control of the Mount to the Arabs! For this, they will have to give an accounting.
Let us turn back, climb the Mountain of holiness and rebuild G-d's House. He is waiting for us!