In the opening verse of the haftara for Parashat Vayeshev, the prophet Amos excoriates the Northern Kingdom of Israel for the corruption of the kingdom's upper class and its shameless disregard for the underprivileged. In the context of his condemnation Amos decries the phenomenon of "sho'afim al afar eretz be-rosh dalim," which literally means, "those who trample upon the dust of the earth, upon the head of the destitute" (2:7). To what exactly does the prophet refer in this verse?
Rashi explains this description to mean that at every step they took, the members of the Israelite aristocracy devised schemes how to rob and take advantage of the poor. According to Rashi's interpretation, we should read this verse as, "As they tread the dust of the earth they long for the head of the destitute." The prophet condemns the incessant efforts being made by the corrupt aristocracy to abuse the poor, such that with every particle of earth upon which they tread they concocted new manipulative schemes to expand their wealth at the expense of their penniless brethren.
Ibn Ezra suggests a different reading, claiming that the prophet speaks of those who "wipe the ground with the heads of the destitute." The abuse of the poor had reached such a peak that the exploitative magnates could be described as cleaning the ground with the poor, subjecting them to suffering and humiliation to further their own financial interests.
The Radak and Metzudot David explain differently, claiming that Amos speaks here of the kingdom's judges who favor the wealthy noblemen in their suits against poor, innocent citizens. The judges, in an effort to win the good will of the aristocrat, would rule against the poor litigant and appoint officials to enforce their ruling. These enforcers were licensed to knock the allegedly guilty party to the ground if he refused to or could not pay, and in this sense the judges ensured that the "head of the destitute" would be cast down to "the dust of the earth."
A much different approach is suggested by Rav Mendel Hirsch, in his commentary to the haftarot, who reads this verse as referring to those "who pant greedily for the dust of the earth on the head of the impoverished one." According to Rav Hirsch, Amos speaks here of the insatiable lust for money that characterized the kingdom's upper class and led them to try seizing anything and everything they could from the defenseless lower class. They were driven to obtain even the "dust of the earth on the head of the impoverished one" – even the "small change" and other insignificant possessions of the poorer citizens. This otherwise irrational drive for even the simple possessions of the poor reflected a certain class philosophy that was prevalent in the pagan world, which championed the inherent privileges of the wealthy. The wealthy class saw itself naturally entitled to fortune and luxury, and saw their poor countrymen inalterably consigned to lives of misery and torment. They therefore allowed themselves to continually strive for even "the dust of the earth" of the poor, considering themselves inherently privileged and entitled to expand their wealth on the backs of the nation's underprivileged population.