Yaakov goes to Charan - He exists Beer Sheva in the holy land of Eretz Yisroel, and goes to Charan - חרון אף של מקום as stated (I think in Rashi).
Yaakov stops at Har Hamoria before he leaves Eretz Yisroel , he stops to rest there for the night, and places rocks beneath his head, which according to Rashi were to protect him from wild beasts.. I had some difficulty in undersatanding the explanation, how can a row of rocks protect us from a wild beast? also, it was around his head only, and an animal can easily enjoy the rest of his body..
I'm sure the question is more on me then on Rashi :D, and this is likely addressed in the sefarim, either way, here is a thought:
Yaakov's actions were also symbolic. Yaakov was about to enter the epicenter of tumah, Charan, a place where morality is an epic the past, a place where a bride is first 'broken in' by the city mayor before she can get married, a place filled with immorality and idolatry. Yaakov placed rocks around his head, (the center of all (4 of the) 5 senses), as a symbol of resilience.
The rock symbolizes resilience, we say it in prayer daily ה' צורי Hashem you are my rock. A rock can weather any storm, winds will rarely budge it, rain will not rot it, cold and hot weather does not affect it.
Following that, Yaakov is shown a vision in his dream of heavenly angles descending to protect him on his way, which is Hashem telling him: Since you have committed yourself to resilience, I will send my angles to protect you and assist you.
Yaakov awoke, took the rock from beneath his head, and turns it into a מצבה, a monument. Yaakov declared: והאבן הזאת אשר שמתי מצבה יהיה בית אלוקים and this stone which I have placed as a monument shall become the house of the Lord.. Yaakov said, this rock is a monument, it is a testiment to my commitment to be resilient while in Charan, my commitment to being strong and not learn from the ways of Lavan.
My friends, many of us live in, near, or around the various 'Charan's' of today's world, let us remember השם צורי וגואלי Hashem is our rock, and redeemer. Let us focus on the words, let us make a monument out of the words by making a daily commitment to hashem, a daily commitment to being resilient, and to adding additional Torah study into our mornings and evenings.
The monument we erect daily, our commitment to Hashem, and the monument of Torah, reminds us constantly who we are, and whom we worship even when we are in Charan. The monument reminds us that we made a commitment to Hashem in the morning, it reminds us to be strong and resilient as a rock.
When we make a commitment, we receive Hashem's assistance, he sends his angles to protect and guide us while on the way, and he himself protects us:
כי מלאכיו יצווה לך לשמרך בכל דרכיך, ה' ישמור צאתך ובואיך מעתה ועד עולם
So when we enter Charan and see a 'shaine maidele', or not so 'shaine'.. when we see immorality.. we remember our commitment to Hashem, our commitment of resilience, we force our eyes to look the other way, and we are strong as a rock not to look back.
We realize it is true that we are powerless on our own, and that it is the strength that Hashem gives us which enables us to follow through on our commitment to him:
כי הוא הנותן לך כח לעשות חיל
If you place the word כח directly above the word חיל you get the word כח again and the word חי Hashem gives us strength resilience and life.
Chazak!
