Sanctifying The Power Of Speech

בפסוק זכור א' אשר עשה ה"א למרים כו' בצאתכם ממצרים

Regarding the pasuk 'Remember what Hashem your God did to Miriam... when you went out from Mitzrayim' (Devarim 24:9),

The Torah commands us to remember the incident of Miriam's tzaraas and ties that remembrance specifically to the Exodus from Mitzrayim.

תלה הכ' ביצ"מ

the verse connects this to Yetzias Mitzrayim.

The Sfas Emes notes that the verse deliberately links the lesson of guarding speech to the event of Yetzias Mitzrayim.

כי הנה כחן של בנ"י בפה וזכו לזה ביצ"מ דכ' ואתנה צאני כו' אדם אתם דרשו חז"ל אתם קרויין אדם

For behold, the strength of Bnei Yisrael lies in the mouth, and they merited this at Yetzias Mitzrayim, as it is written 'And you, My sheep... you are man' (Yechezkel 34:31) — and Chazal expounded: 'You are called man (Adam)' (Yevamos 61a).

The unique power of Bnei Yisrael is the power of speech, which they earned at Yetzias Mitzrayim; the title 'Adam' (man) is reserved for them, as Chazal derive from the pasuk in Yechezkel.

והענין כי יתרון האדם שהוא מדבר ומנהיג עצמו ע"פ רצונו

The matter is this: the superiority of man is that he speaks and conducts himself according to his own will.

What elevates man above all creatures is his gift of speech and his ability to govern his own conduct through free will.

וזה יתכן להיות שבח כשהוא נותן דעתו לילך בדרך התורה ורצון הש"י

And this can be a praise when he directs his mind to walk in the way of the Torah and the will of Hashem Yisbarach.

This faculty becomes praiseworthy only when a person uses his will and his speech to follow the path of Torah and Hashem's will.

אבל הרשעים הלא מוטב הי' להם אם לא יהי' [*להם] בחי' הדיבור לכן אתם קרוים אדם

But as for the resha'im, it would have been better for them had they not possessed the faculty of speech — therefore specifically 'you' (Bnei Yisrael) are called man.

For the wicked, the power of speech is a liability rather than an asset, so it would have been better had they lacked it; hence only Bnei Yisrael truly earn the title 'man.'

ובנ"י כשיצאו ממצרים ניתן להם בחי' הדיבור כמ"ש שנעשו כקטן שנולד ואביו חייב ללמדו תורה כשמתחיל לדבר ולכן אחר יצ"מ הוצרכו בנ"י לשמור מאוד הפה והלשון

And when Bnei Yisrael went out from Mitzrayim, the faculty of speech was given to them, as it is said that they became like a newborn child, and his father is obligated to teach him Torah when he begins to speak; and therefore, after Yetzias Mitzrayim, Bnei Yisrael had to guard the mouth and the tongue exceedingly.

At Yetzias Mitzrayim Bnei Yisrael were reborn like a newborn whose father must teach him Torah as soon as he speaks, so from then on they bore a heightened duty to guard their mouth and tongue.

ונגד הלשון ניתן לנו התורה

And corresponding to the tongue the Torah was given to us.

The Torah itself was given as the proper counterpart and purpose for the gift of the tongue, channeling speech toward holiness.

ולשמור הפה ניתן לנו המן במדבר

And to guard the mouth, the mann was given to us in the midbar.

The mann in the midbar was given as a means to guard and discipline the mouth, training Bnei Yisrael in proper use of eating and speech.

והאמת כי גם הצרעת מדה טובה לבנ"י שא"י לסבול הלשון הרע בפנימיותם לכן נולד מזה נגע כמ"ש בפ' מצורע במד' בפסוק ונתתי נגע צרעת שהיא מתנה לטובה כמ"ש שם אך טוב לישראל א' לברי לבב פי' מי שרוצה להיות בר לבב מסייעין לו מן השמים והראי' שנענשה מרים בצרעת וידוע שיסורים של הצדיקים הם לטובה והעונש שלהם הוא מתנה ורחמים כנ"ל:

And in truth, even tzaraas is a good trait for Bnei Yisrael, for they cannot tolerate lashon hara within their inner selves, and therefore a nega'is born from it — as is stated in Parashas Metzora in the Midrash on the pasuk 'And I will place a nega of tzaraas' (Vayikra 14:34), that it is a gift for the good, as it is written there 'Surely God is good to Yisrael, to those who are pure of heart' (Tehillim 73:1) — meaning, whoever wishes to be pure of heart, they assist him from Shamayim; and the proof is that Miriam was punished with tzaraas, and it is known that the sufferings of the tzaddikim are for the good, and their punishment is a gift and an expression of mercy, as above.

Even the affliction of tzaraas is really a kindness to Bnei Yisrael: because their inner selves cannot bear lashon hara, the impurity surfaces as a visible blemish; the Midrash teaches this is a gift, since one who wishes to be pure of heart receives help from Shamayim, and Miriam's punishment shows that the sufferings of tzaddikim are themselves an expression of mercy.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that the Torah's command to remember Miriam's tzaraas is bound up with Yetzias Mitzrayim, because the defining strength of Bnei Yisrael is the power of speech, which they merited at the Exodus and which earns them alone the title 'Adam.' Speech is the crown of man only when harnessed to the will of Hashem and the path of the Torah; for the resha'im it would have been better left ungiven. Having been reborn at Yetzias Mitzrayim like a newborn whose father must teach him Torah the moment he speaks, Bnei Yisrael took on a heightened obligation to guard the mouth and tongue, for which the Torah and the mann in the midbar were given. Ultimately even tzaraas is a kindness, for the pure inner self of a Jew cannot tolerate lashon hara and expels it as a visible nega; thus, as Miriam's affliction shows, the sufferings of tzaddikim are truly a gift and an expression of Hashem's mercy.