Moses begins the song of Ha'azinu with the words: "When I call out the name of G‑d, ascribe greatness to our G‑d." The Talmud says that this verse teaches us that one must recite a blessing before studying Torah. Thus the meaning of the verse is: Before one studies Torah -- thus "calling out the name of G‑d," since the entire Torah is considered to be names of G‑d -- one should "ascribe greatness to G‑d" by reciting the blessings which acknowledge the greatness of the Torah.

In fact, there are three separate blessings on Torah study which are recited during the morning prayers (they can be found in your prayerbook). In addition to these blessings, there are two blessings to be said when one is called up to the Torah to receive an aliyah. The first blessing is said before the aliyah (it is the same as the third of the morning blessings) and the second blessing is said afterwards.

This article focuses on the three blessings on Torah study that we recite in the morning.