2. Tefilah L'Ani (Prayer of the Poor)

“Morning by morning He awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I turned not backward” (Isaiah 50:4-5). The Rav reads every word of these verses, and the young boy repeats after him.

Afterward, a hard-boiled egg is brought. The shell is peeled off, and upon the egg is written: “And He said to me, Son of man, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you. And I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey” (Ezekiel 3:3). The Rav reads every word, and the young boy repeats after him. They then feed the boy the cake and the egg, as this is a proven remedy for opening the heart [to Torah study].

A person should not deviate from this custom, as the Sages state in Tractate Pesachim (50a) in the chapter Makom SheNahagu, and in Bereishit Rabbah (48:14) on the Torah portion of Vayeira: “When you enter a city, follow its customs.” This principle is also echoed in the first chapter of the Jerusalem Talmud on Ta'anit, in the Jerusalem Talmud on the chapter Makom SheNahagu, and in Aggadat Shir HaShirim, which establishes that “a custom is a significant matter” (minhaga milsa).