On January 18, 1943, the Germans began their second deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, which led to the first instance of armed resistance. The deportation was halted within a few days; due to their brave efforts, 3,000 of the 8,000 Jews whom the Nazis intended to deport at that time were saved. The Nazis retreated, only to return three months later, at which time the Warsaw uprising started in earnest.
Link: Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
R. Chaim Kapusi was one of the leading sages of Egypt in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. He passed away at the age of ninety, on 12 Shevat in the year 5391 from Creation (1631).
It is related that R. Chaim once became blind, and the townsfolk spread rumors attributing his condition to bribery, as the verse states, “Bribery blinds the eyes of the wise.” Hearing this, R. Chaim got up before the entire congregation and announced: “If it is true that I have accepted bribery, may my eyes retain their sightlessness. But if it is not true, may my vision be restored!” Miraculously, his vision returned immediately, and he proceeded to identify the congregants by name (Shem Hagedolim).
Link: Don’t Get Bribed!
The Baal Shem Tov described life as a spiral staircase, constantly deflecting away from your target in order to attain it.
In Yiddish it’s called a “swindling staircase.” Some wise chassidim have pointed out a connection: Life swindles you into believing you are going in circles when really you are traveling higher each day.
This is the way of every true and lasting ascent: Just as you’re making some progress upward, you see yourself falling away and stumbling in the dark.
If you could see the whole picture, how all things resolve in the end, you would see how those periods of darkness and failure are truly steps higher and yet higher.
They must be. Because we did not create life.
G‑d did. And for Him, there are no failures—