הכתב והקבלה — כי שם ה' אקרא הבו גדל לאלהינו

Q — Rashi reads 'כי שם ה' אקרא הבו גדל לאלהינו' as: when *I* call upon Hashem's name (i.e., recite a brachah), respond with 'baruch shem kevod malchuto.' But HaKtav suggests a different addressee for 'שם ה'.'

A — HaKtav VeHaKabbalah identifies 'שם ה'' as a *title for Torah*. Torah is variously called תפארת (Berachot 58a on 'לך ה' הגדלה'), הוד והדר (Shabbat 88b on 'הודך והדרך'), and חמדה (Sanhedrin 102b on 'כל מחמד עיניך') — and 'שם' is a parallel synonym, attested elsewhere as glory/renown ('אנשי שם,' Bamidbar 16:2; 'לתהלה ולשם ולתפארת,' Devarim 26:19). 'שם ה'' therefore means '*the glory of Hashem*' — Torah itself. The verse then reads: 'When I proclaim *Hashem's Torah/glory*, ascribe greatness to our God.' Moshe's song-introduction is a call to recognize Torah-study as the route to ascribing greatness to Hashem. It is also (HaKtav notes in continuation) connected to the prior verse's image of Torah-words descending like rain and dew — the song *is* Torah, and proclaiming Torah is the act through which the listeners give greatness to God.