Gid Hanashe and Fast Days

When Yaakov was left alone to retrieve his jugs, he got embroiled in a fight with the angel of his evil brother Esav. They battled all night long, and upon seeing dawn on the horizon, the angel gave up, but not without striking Yaakov on the thigh and injuring him. Because of this, the Torah says that "על כן לא יאכלו בני ישראל את גיד הנשה - therefore, the Jews do not eat the gid hanasheh, the sciatic nerve."
Homiletically, this passuk can be interpreted to be referring to the days of the year when Jews "do not eat" at all, the public fast days:
The passuk reads as follows: "Therefore the Jews do not eat [on the days hinted to in the following words]:
"את - the ninth (תשעה) of the month of Av (אב);
"גיד - the 3rd (ג) day of the month of Tishrei;
"גיד - the 10th (י) day of the month of Teves;
"גיד - the 17th (the gematriah of גיד) day of Tammuz."
ש"ך על התורה בראשית לב, לג בסופו
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The Arizal and the Eruv

R. Chaim Vital writes of his esteemed master and teacher, the Arizal, that he was careful to make an eruvei chatzeiros every week before Shabbos, not like those that suffice with making one for the entire year. Indeed, the Arizal was very into the eiruv of his city, the fabled mystical town of Tzfas. Says R. Chaim Vital:
"I saw that my master would carry his tallis and chumash on Shabbos morning from his home to Shul. He would also carry it to the famous mikvah outside the city and he was not particular, nor did he bother, to verify if the eiruv for all the alleys of the city of Tzfas aw well as for the mikvah were made according to halachah."
שער הכוונות להרח"ו ז"ל ענין רחיצת פניו ורגליו ד"ה ענין העירוב
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Three Signs of a Scholar

The Gemara (חולין ט, א) declares that a Talmid Chacham must know three things: ksav (writing), shechitah, and milah. Rashi (ד"ה כתב) explains that "ksav" means the simple knowledge of writing, for the scholar should know how to sign his name were he to sit as a judge or a witness.
Explaining why it doesn't mean the knowledge of the laws of writing a Sefer Torah etc., the Maharsh"a explains that the Torah scholar's knowledge of all areas of halachah is a given; this cannnot be what the Gemara means when it says that he must be knowledgeable in "writing." Rather, the intent is the skill of signing his name.
Alternatively, the intent is the obligation a Talmid Chacham has to "transcribe" his Torah thoughts. One whom Hashem has bestowed with the wisdom to expand Torah knowledge is obligated to do so lest it be forgotten. Should he not do so, it is tantamount to spilling seed in vain.
פי' רוב דגן (עטייה) לחולין ט, א ד"ה ח"ח צריך שידע
ועי' בספר אברהם את עיניו(פלאג'י) למס' זו פי' יפה
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Forced Marriage, Can't Get Rid of Us

The Gemara (שבת פח, א) relates that when Hashem approached the Jews with the proposition of receiving the Torah, He was rather forceful about it. He suspended a mountain over their heads and asked them if they would accept it; if not, then and there would be their burial.
Why did Hashem choose such an interesting manner to give the Torah to His beloved nation?
Giving the Torah at Mt. Sinai was the wedding day of the Jewish people with Hashem (תענית כו ,ב). The halachah states that a person who forcefully marries a woman is obligated to remain married to her (if she so wishes) and, unlike all other marriages, is never allowed to divorce her. Were he to give her a get, it is invalid.
Hashem foresaw that His "wife-to-be," the Jewish people, just may end up in trouble and warrant a "divorce." This He did not want; so, He "forcefully" married them, thus disabling a divorce forever.
צפנת פענח חדש ערך נשואין וגירושין אופן הא
ועי' בגור אריה שמות יט, יז פי' דומה
ועי' לקוש ח"א שיחה ב' לפ' תצא
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Bimah in the Middle of the Shul

Throughout history, Jewish congregations placed the bimah in the middle of the shul. With the advent of the "Enlightened" movement in Europe of the late 18th century, reformers started to move the bimah to the front of the Shul. This caused much distress to the halachic authorities of the time, and they spoke out and wrote against it.
R. Yehuda Aszod, student of R. Mordechai Benet and Chasam Sofer and prominent possek of Hungarian Jewry after the latter's death, saw this phenomenon and opposed it. Pondering the possible deeper significance of this breach, he explained:
In the Beis Hamikdash, there were two altars: the golden one inside upon which the incense was burned, and the copper one outside upon which all the sacrifices were brought. The inner one was used only once a day and by a select group of people, whereas the outer one was used quite extensively throughout the day by many people.
Today, there is no Beis Hamikdash or altar. The sacrifices of today are the words of Torah we read and learn, and the altar is table upon which the Torah lies - the bimah. These reformers erroneously think that the Torah and its altar are to be relegated to a select few people and to be seldom used - like the inner altar that was situated in the "front" of the Temple. The truth however is that the Torah and its altar are to accessed extensively by all - like the outer altar which was situated in the "middle" of the Temple.
שו"ת יהודה יעלה ח"א או"ח סי' ג
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Weaker Body, Stronger Intellect

The Gemara states that the Hebrew word "זקן" is an acronym for the words "זה שקנה חכמה - this [one] has acquired wisdon," clearly implying that age alone brings along wisdom.
This is clearly true; the more life experience one has, this serves as his greatest teacher. But a deeper idea lies beneath these words:
As a person ages and his body weakens, his "physicality" and "mortality" lessens and makes way for more intellect, which is spiritual by nature. Not only that, as the physical influence deteriorates, a "higher" and more "unique" form of intellect is bestowed upon him from above.
דרך חיים (להמהר"ל) על המשנה אבות פ"ה מכ"ב
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Do Halachos of Rambam Qualify?

The Gemara states: "It was taught in the name of the house of Eliyahu, he who learns halachos every day is guaranteed entry into the world to come."
Reading this Gemara, a certain questioner understood it to mean at least two halachos a day. He therefore turned to the Rashba"sh, R. Shlomo b. Shimon Duran of Algiers, and asked if two halachos of Rambam or other authors qualify for this promise.
R. Shlomo replied that they indeed do. His logic: Even the halachos of the Mishnah are a compilation of earlier halachos executed by R. Yehudah Hanasi. This would give the Rambam definite qualification, as he too merely compiled earlier sources.
שו"ת הרשב"ש סי' נ"ב
ויש לעיין בספרים דהיום, שישנם כמה ספרים של "ליקוט", האם ספרים אלו נחשבים ג"כ
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