Parshas Vayeitzei commences with the flight of Yaakov Avinu from Eretz Yisroel and concludes with his return home. His departure is marked by an angelic escort (28:12 - v. Rashi), and his return consists of a parallel celestial welcome (ibid. 32:2). Why are Yaakov's travels accompanied by malachim, whereas the other Avos did not merit this luxury when they sojourned?

The Rambam, based on a Medrash, explains that Har Hamoriah was known to the Avos by three distinct terms. To Avrohom it was a "mountain" (Bereshis 22:2); Yitzchak related to it as a "field" (ibid. 24:63); Yaakov referred to it as a "house" (ibid. 28:17). The underlying meaning of this statement is that Avrohom's role was to raise mankind from the abyss of idolatry to a recognition of One God; his mission was that of elevating the world from the depths to spiritual heights. Thus, Har Hamoriah was a "mountain" in terms of Avrohom's work. Yitzchak began and continued his life on a high spiritual plane, and his persona was imbedded on the surface of Har Hamoriah. Har Hamoriah was therefore like a "field" to him, as Yitzchak's positive other-worldliness related to the lofty qualities of Har Hamoriah, and its aura of sacrifice was a natural reflection of his life's essence. Yaakov, however, presents a different picture, such that Har Hamoriah is deemed a "house". Let's investigate this.

Rashi (ibid. 28:11) quotes the Gemara (Chulin 91b), in which Rabbi Yitzchak explains that the stones upon which Yaakov Avinu rested when he envisioned the angelic ladder all sought to service Yaakov, each stone proclaiming, "The tzaddik should lay his head upon me." Additionlly, Chazal relate that the "malachim" (which can be translated as "messengers") dispatched by Yaakov to Eisav upon to Yaakov's return to Eretz Yisroel were actual angels ("malachim mamash" - Bereshis 32:4, with Rashi from Medrash Rabbah). Furthermore, Rashi, invoking the words of Medrash Rabbah regarding the transport of Yaakov's body from Egypt to Hebron for burial (Bereshis 50:13), explains that Yaakov's coffin was carried by his sons in the same exact order and formation as the Holy Ark was borne. What do these aggadic interpretations indicate?

One may suggest that the overall theme is that Yaakov represents endowing the material realm with kedushah. Yaakov's mission was to bring kedushah into the mundane world and sanctify it, and this is why the lowly, bare and earthly stones merited to service Yaakov and thereby perform a holy function. (V. ch. 26 of Mesilas Yesharim for further exposition.) For this same reason was Yaakov able to convene heavenly angels and send them on an earthly mission to Eisav. Similarly, Yaakov, who facilitated an infusion of sanctity into the human realm, was likened to the Holy Ark, and his body was thus treated in a similar fashion. Yaakov Avinu was the personification of kedushah in this world, and he identified with and merited to experience the escort of angels, as if he himself were a celestial being. The place of Yaakov's vision was suffused with kedushah (Targum Yonasan ben Uziel on Bereshis 28:17), and his visage is carved on Hashem's throne (Medrash).

This explains why Yaakov related to Har Hamoriah as a "house", for Yaakov's contribution to the legacy of the Avos was the concept of instilling the material domain with kedushah and drawing Hashem's Presence into the world. This is precisely what the "house" - the Beis Hamikdash - located upon Har Hamoriah is all about, and it is the message and mission of the Jewish People.

It is extremely noteworthy that the name "Yisroel", meaning that one has triumphed in the spiritual, was endowed specifically upon Yaakov, for his essence was that of connecting to kedushah and bringing the world within its veil. This is the ultimate mission of Yaakov and his offspring.

We must never neglect the spiritual goals vested in us by Yaakov, the "Bechir Ha-Avos" ("Choicest of the Patriarchs"). Although we live and function in the physical world, our grounding and source of identity must be the spiritual.

We are charged with the task of taking the earthly and making it heavenly, of elevating our environs by cleaving to Hashem and using the gifts of this world for that mission. (V. Koheles Rabbah 7, quoted in ch. 1 of Mesilas Yesharim.) The manner in which we conduct our lives, how we spend our time, where we decide to live, and what is really important in our value system are largely reflective of our focus on our divine work. May we stay the course and truly merit our holy designation as B'nei Yisroel.