When Yaakov Avinu woke up from his famous dream of the ladder that connects heaven and earth, he said two things that seem to contradict each other. First he said, "Indeed Hashem is in this place", and then a fear fell upon him and he said, "How awesome is this place, it is no other than the house of El-him, and this is the gate to Heaven". The difference in usage of these two Names of G-d express completely different divine manifestations, necessating an explanation within the context of his dream. Another obvious question that must be asked is what Yaakov Avinu meant when he said that Hashem is in this place? Surely, he was not implying that in other places He is not!
To answer both questions it is worthwhile to proceed further in the Parsha to another enigmatic statement made by our great Forefather: "If El-him will be with me ... then Hashem will be my El-him and the stone that I made a monument will be the house of El-him ..." This statement seems even stranger than the first, for it appears to be saying that Hashem will be his G-d only if He helps him!
To understand these verses we must first clarify the usage of these two manifestations of Holiness. The name El-him denotes G-d's constant and regular manipulation of the world, otherwise known as 'Mother Nature'. The name Hashem (the Tetragrammaton), on the other hand, denotes G-d's complete and ultimate dominion, unrestricted by the limitations of nature. Hence, when Yaakov said "Hashem will be my El-him, he meant that he will be governed by the unlimited Name of Hashem, not but by the limiting Name El-him. Indeed, he arrived penniless at Lavan's house and left a very wealthy man, without any natural recourse to cause and effect. When he referred to the holy place as 'The House of El-him', he meant that Hashem reveals Himself in this world, which is run by the name El-him, only where the potential holiness inherent in this lowly world has come to its fruition. So to speak, it has 'built its house'. If Hashem revealed himself in a specific place it must have meant that the inherent holiness of that spot was so great that Divinity found a resting place there. Surely Yaakov was right, then, in concluding that that speific place must be the gateway to Heaven. Indeed, history has shown that it was in that same spot that Hashem finally found an abode on earth.
Think deeply into this and you will understand why on two occasions in this Parsha Yaakov collected rocks together, and why he rolled the rock off the mouth of the well...
Adapted from Rabbi Vali's book on Bereshis. Questions and subscriptions can be mailed to: the Yeshiva