The Heavenly Opposite the Earthly

He was frightened, and said: How awe-inspiring this place is! this is none other than the house of G-d, and this is the gate of heaven.'     Genesis 28:17 The earthly Temple is located opposite the heavenly Temple.       Jerusalem Talmud (Yerushalmi), Berachot 4:5

Rabbi Yehonatan Eybschutz notes that there are two ways to understand the comment of the Yerushalmi: 

                1] the earthly Temple draws sanctity from being located opposite the heavenly Temple,

                which is the prime source of sanctity;

2] the greater source of sanctity is the site of the earthly Temple, the place from which creation began [Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 54b], and since God’s desire was to dwell within the earthly world [Breishit Rabba 19:13], He placed the heavenly Temple opposite the earthly Temple.

                Our Sages [Babylonian Talmud, Hullin 91b] understood that God moved Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount) to Luz [v. 19] for Jacob’s journey. Though the Temple Mount has been moved to Luz, Jacob still sees it as the “gate of heaven,” indicating that the second understanding of the Yerushalmi is correct: the earthly Temple is the essential source of sanctity, and therefore, if it is moved, the gate of heaven will be moved with it. The gate of heaven is dependent upon the earthly Temple, and wherever the earthly Temple is, the heavenly Temple will be above it.

                Indeed, our Sages taught [Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 5a] that God said He would not enter the heavenly Jerusalem until He enters the earthly Jerusalem. The Holy Or haHayyim [Genesis 1:1] notes that the clear implication is that the earthly Jerusalem is dearer to God than the heavenly one.