Ha'azinu - Rishon

"Listen up, Heaven and Earth, so that my words may pour down on you like rain. When you hear me say God's Name, ascribe due honor to Him! He is always consistent and His deeds are perfect. His ways are just and He is reliable. He is perfectly righteous. He doesn't cause destruction; that happens because of the immorality of humans. That's how you repay your Creator? How foolish and ungrateful!"

Verse 3 ("When I proclaim the Name of God, ascribe greatness to our Lord") is the source of our practice to say "Baruch Hu u'baruch shmo," "Blessed is He and blessed is His Name," when we hear someone else recite a blessing. (It is also recited before the mincha and musaf amidah prayers.)

Author: Rabbi Jack Abramowitz