The essence of this nation is to know how to use our words. At the burning bush, Hashem appeared to Moshe Rabbeinu and said, “I want you to take my nation out of Egypt.” Moshe Rabbeinu says, “They are not going to believe me. I’m going to come to them and say, ‘I want to take them out.’ They’re not going to believe me.” The next Pasuk (verse) says that Hashem tells Moshe Rabbeinu, “Take your stick and throw it to the ground.” And the stick turns into a snake. Rashi says, “Why was the stick turned into a snake?” Hashem was telling Moshe Rabbeinu: What you just said in the previous Pasuk, what you just said about the Jewish people—that they’re not going to believe you—was negative. In this position, in this conversation, you were like the Nachash. You were like the snake. You spoke Lashon Hara. You spoke things that are negative.
The next thing Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu was, “Put your hand into your jacket and then take your hand out.” And it was white like tzaraat, like leprosy. You know why? Because someone who sees Lashon Hara gets leprosy. Moshe Rabbeinu, you didn’t speak positive. And then Moshe Rabbeinu tells Hashem, “I’m not a person who can talk.” And we all think, okay, Hashem is asking, “What does it mean, ‘I’m not a person who can talk’?” What it means to say is that if the essence of our religion is to free ourselves from Paroh, if the essence of our religion is to free ourselves from Paroh, the essence of our religion is to create a nation that knows how to use its mouth in Torah, in tefillah (prayer), and in relations with other people. If a person has to know how to use their mouth, lo ish devarim anochi, I don’t know if I am the person who is gifted with that kind of mouth. And Hashem says to Moshe Rabbeinu, “Ve'anochi ehyeh im picha. I’m going to be with your mouth. I’m going to protect your mouth.” Because your mouth is going to be the essence of what the Jewish people, as they become free, need to be.
You need to think about what you say. You need to think about who you’re saying it to. You need to think about what you text. You need to think about what you email. You need to think about when you smile, and when you laugh, and when you frown. You need to think about when you roll your eyes. You need to think about when you raise your eyes. Eyebrows. You need to think about a comment. You need to think about a critique. You need to think about a compliment. You need to think about what you say about somebody else. You need to think. You need to become Ish Devarim. You need to be a person who can speak and understands the nuances of it.