Prayer Chapter 1 | The Seder of Beginning a Child's Education - Part 3

A Tikkun (Spiritual Rectification) for Bringing One's Son to Talmud TorahFrom the Sefer Kol Bo, Siman 74It is customary that when a person brings his son to Talmud Torah (to begin his formal Torah education), they write the letters of the Aleph-Bet for him on parchment or on a board. They bathe him and dress him in clean clothes. They knead challahs for him with honey and milk, and bring him fruits and various delicacies. They then entrust him to a Torah scholar to lead him to the school. The scholar covers the child under the corners of his garment (tallis) and leads him to the school. There, they feed him from the challahs made with honey and milk, as well as the fruits and delicacies. They read the letters to him, and afterward, they cover the letters with honey and tell him to lick the honey off the letters. Afterward, they return him to his mother. When he officially begins to learn Torah, they start him with Toras Kohanim in the Book of Vayikra (Leviticus). They make a seudah (festive meal) of joy for him, because to his father, it is as if he is bringing him before Mount Sinai, as it is written: "On this day they came to the Sinai Desert" (Shemos 19:1). The Torah is teaching us: Every single day, the words of Torah should be in your eyes as if they were given today, which is why it is written "On this day," rather than "On that day." The reason they feed him fruits and delicacies is in remembrance of the delights that the Jewish people enjoyed in the desert, such as the Manna, the Well, and the quail. And the reason they knead challahs for him with honey and milk is a remembrance...