The pasuk ‘when I call out the Name of HaShem, ascribe greatness to our God’ (32:3) is explained by various gemarras to refer to the pre-Birkas Hamazon zimun and also to the obligation to make a bracha on the Torah. Interestingly, both are communally-focussed. Zimun obviously has a communal facet, for it is only recited when there are three people eating together. And Birkas Hatorah is also centred around the communal as opposed to the individual, as evidenced by the constant reference to the nation in the bracha (asher kideshanu…anachnu ve’tzetza’einu…ahser bachar banu’). The idea seems to be that, firstly, we were given the Torah as a nation, and more importantly, a proper acceptance of the Torah only occurs when we are united as a nation as opposed to a bunch of individuals.
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