The children gathered around the tree and commented to each other how high it was, and how exciting it would be to climb to the top. They opted to play a game to see who could climb to the top of the tree without falling. Among the participating children was five-year-old Menachem Mendel, the future Lubavitcher Rebbe. His mother, Rebbetzin Chana, observed the children as they played.

All the other boys succeeded, at best, to reach halfway up the tree before falling, while Menachem Mendel reached the top.

Later, his mother asked him, “Mendel, how did you succeed to reach the top when the other children failed?”

“It was easy,” answered the child. “The other children kept looking down, and as soon as they realized how high they were, they became dizzy and fell. I, however, looked only upward. When I saw how low I was, I kept going higher and higher until I reached the top.”

—Adapted from “Yimei Melech”

“A lesson from a bicycle: One can only maintain balance by riding forward.”
—Rabbi Dovid Hazdan

“When one is connected Above, one does not fall down below.”
—Reb Meir of Premishlan