The verse says, "He who is in the heavens above, and who is in the earth below" When it comes to the heavens – spirituality, always look up, take an example from people on top who have reached high levels, and strive for more, quality, and goodness. And don't look at the people below you because then you are comforted that you are okay. On the other hand, when it comes to the country, materialism, look underneath, at the people who are in a low economic situation, at the unsuccessful, and thus reassure yourself that you are in a good situation in relation to them. But if you look up at the rich, you will be jealous of them and in the end you will aspire to make a fortune like them.
A parable of a worker who worked for the landlord and was outside the house of a ladder, through which people would go up to the roof, it happened several times that people went up the ladder and fell. The landlord ordered the worker to break the ladder so that they would not go up through it to the roof. What did the worker do? He climbed the second step, and broke the first one below it, then he climbed on the third, and broke the second, and went up to the fourth. And he broke the third, went up to the fifth, and broke the fourth, until he reached the roof, and he couldn't go down. And he started screaming for help, the owner of the house asked him, "What did you do?" The landlord said to him, "Stupid, that's not how you break, you have to go up and break the top first, and so go down step by step.
And then time passed and there was a pit in the yard where they would go down with a ladder, and there too people were hurt, and again the owner of the house ordered the worker, go and break the ladder! The worker did as his master commanded, and as he taught him to break the ladder from top to bottom, and he began to break the upper step, and he went down, each time breaking the upper step, until he reached the bottom of the pit. And again he shouted for help, the owner of the house came and saw the worker shouting at him: Have you done the opposite of what is necessary? The worker answered, "Why did you tell me to do the opposite, to start breaking from above, and to go downstairs.....
The Ben Ish Chai said, "This is how a person is told, when it comes to spirituality, look up, and in corporeality, look down, and what does a person do?" On the contrary, in spirituality one looks downwards, and in corporeality one strives as high as possible.
