(condensed from Ein Ayah, Shabbat 8:16)

Gemara: Darga (step) is made up of derech gag (the way to the roof).

Ein Ayah: The partnership within society brings a person, with all his goodness, to being built and improved. It also lowers him when the community is lowered by its necessary involvement in mundane matters, which abound in people’s lives. Even when a great person is with the people of his home, he is negatively impacted by the lowly matters that those people are involved in, when those people lack the complete outlook of a great person. A lofty human spirit will strive to elevate itself even further. When he has a great need to connect himself to the lives of the masses, he can sometimes elevate himself beyond them. There are paths within the home to go higher and higher. We call steps that go up darga because they can lead a person all the way to the roof (i.e., the highest levels) that are beyond the thoughts of the average person.