Remember what your God ה' did to Miriam on the journey after you left Egypt.
זכור את אשר עשה ה' אלקיך למרים אם באת ליזהר שלא תלקה בצרעת לא תספר לשון הרע לשון רש"י (רש"י על דברים כ״ד:ט׳) ולפי דעתי שהיא מצות עשה ממש כמו זכור את יום השבת לקדשו (שמות כ ח) זכור את היום הזה אשר יצאתם ממצרים (שם יג ג) זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק (דברים כ״ה:י״ז) כולם מצוה...
וכן הוא אומר זכור את אשר עשה ה' אלקיך למרים יכול בלבך כשהוא אומר השמר בנגע הצרעת לשמר מאד ולעשות (דברים כ״ד:ח׳) הרי שמירת הלב אמורה הא מה אני מקיים זכור שתהא שונה בפיך
בכתוב הזה אזהרה גדולה בו להמנע ממנו בין בגלוי בין בסתר בין במתכוין להזיק ולהבזות בין שאין מתכוין להזיק...
“If you wish to guard yourself against being stricken with leprosy, do not speak slander.” This is Rashi’s language. And in my opinion this actually is a positive commandment, like Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy; Remember this day, on which you came out from Egypt; Remember what Amalek did to you. "Remember what the Eternal your God did to Miriam. I might think this means ‘in your heart.’ But "Be careful with the plague of tzara'at, that you are careful, and do" already refers to forgetfulness of heart. How then can I fulfill the commandment "Remember" [if that also refers to the heart? I must conclude that it means] a ‘verbal utterance.’...This verse contains a great admonition to refrain from it both in public and in private, whether with intent to hurt and to shame or with no intent to harm at all.
(17) You shall not subvert the rights of the stranger or the fatherless; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pawn. (18) Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and that your God ה' redeemed you from there; therefore I enjoin you to observe this matter. (19) When you reap the harvest in your field and overlook a sheaf in the field, do not turn back to get it; it shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow—in order that your God ה' may bless you in all your undertakings. (20) When you beat down the fruit of your olive trees, do not go over them again; that shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. (21) When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not pick it over again; that shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. (22) Always remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I enjoin you to observe this matter.
וזכרת כי עבד היית על מנת כן פדיתיך לשמור חקותי אפילו בדבר שיש בו חסרון כיס לשון רש"י (רש"י על דברים כ״ד:י״ח) והנכון שהוא חוזר על אזהרת הגר...
“I released you on this condition — to observe my statutes even if there would be monetary loss in the matter.” This is Rashi’s language. But the correct interpretation is that it refers back to the admonitions concerning the stranger.
When you remember that you yourself were a slave, you must have compassions for others, for the stranger, and the widow, and do not treat them unfairly.
"Remember that you were a slave in Egypt." For if you do not observe my commandments, you will end up returning to slavery. "And the Eternal your God redeemed you from there." On the condition that you fulfill the commandments. "Therefore I command you to do this matter." That a light commandment would be as precious to you as a serious one.
(17) Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt— (18) how, undeterred by fear of God, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear. (19) Therefore, when your God ה' grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that your God ה' is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!
I have already mentioned the Midrash which the Rabbis interpreted in the Sifra: “I might think that it means, ‘in your heart.’ But when Scripture states, thou shalt not forget, forgetfulness of heart is already stated. How then can I fulfill the injunction Remember? It must mean ‘by verbal utterance.’” It is also stated in the Sifre, “Remember what Amalek did unto thee means verbal [remembrance]. Thou shalt not forget means [remembrance] in the heart.”...The correct interpretation appears to me that the verse states that you are not to forget what Amalek did to us until we blot out his remembrance from under the heavens, and that we are to relate it to our children and to our generations, saying to them, “Thus did the wicked one do to us and therefore we have been commanded to blot out his name.” Similarly, in the affair of Miriam, we were commanded to tell our children and relate it to the generations. Although it might be appropriate to conceal it in order not to speak of the shortcomings of the righteous, Scripture commanded that it be known and revealed so that the admonition against slander be put in their mouths because it is a great sin and causes many evils, and people are in the habit of stumbling in this, just as the Rabbis have said: “All people are [suspect] of a shade of slander.”