Rav Wolbe asks (Shiurei Chumash Parshas Chukas) wouldn’t it have been more effective had Bnei Yisroel threatened them? They could have warned, "If you don’t allow us to pass through your land, we will destroy you just as we did to the nation of Amalek!" What message was Moshe trying to convey when he told Edom that Hashem listens to our prayers? The answer is that when we speak with the other nations, we must do so in the proper fashion. We should speak "our language" as opposed to theirs. We must bear in mind Bnei Yisroel’s essential characteristic and act accordingly. Bnei Yisroel operate with prayer, not with threats of war and annihilation.

Rav Hutner once related to Rav Wolbe that Rav Kook wrote a letter in which he stated that it is not possible to establish a truly proper Jewish homeland at the present time. Such a land would have to be run with kindness and righteousness, the trademarks of the Jewish people. Since the rest of the world is filled with politics and corruption, such a feat would be impossible. Bnei Yisroel have their own way of doing things which is often not in accordance with the way other nations act.

In a similar vein, the Torah relates that after the death of Aharon the nation of Canaan waged war against Bnei Yisroel and took captives. Bnei Yisroel prayed to Hashem to deliver their enemy into their hands and pledged to donate all the spoils toward the service of Hashem. Rashi explains that in reality only one maidservant was captured. Rav Wolbe notes that despite the fact that it was only one person, it was a major concern of Bnei Yisroel, for which they prayed and pledged charity. While other nations might overlook the capture or even death of countless citizens, the Jewish People do things differently.

This dvar Torah was compiled by the family of the Mashgiach Harav Shlomo ben R’ Moshe z"l, l’iluy nishmaso