"All you need is a dollar and a dream!" is the slogan for the New York Lotto. Though statistically, you only have one chance in 13 million to win, everyone who buys a ticket has that hope-that he will be the one. The proof is that you bought a ticket. Then you begin to fantasize what you will do with all that money when you win the Lotto jackpot. The "hope of winning" adds a spirit of optimism to your life. You are now more cheerful, more joyful and, most of all, more productive because maybe, just maybe, you will be the winner.

The same is true with Moshiach. The more hope that Moshiach can and will come today and instantaneously change your life for the better-when Moshiach will usher in an era of eternal life and health, and when wealth will be as common as the dust of the earth-is rewarding in and of itself for it renews your hope and gives you a spirit of optimism and joy that makes your day more productive.

It is ludicrous to say that constantly believing in Moshiach is wrong because it brings disappointment. The very same people who believed they would win the Lotto jackpot still bought tickets the following week. Even if you are disappointed, you once again reawaken this faith and buy a new ticket. Though Moshiach did not come yesterday-yes, we are disappointed-but we reawaken the hope and spirit of optimism that he will come today.

There is another lesson. People say, 'When I win, I will donate 10 percent of my jackpot to my synagogue…When I win, I will give 10 percent to my yeshiva…I will buy my parents a condo down in Florida." But what if you don't win? Well, perhaps you can't give $1,000,000 to the synagogue or yeshiva, but you can give $1,000. If you can't buy your parents a condo, you can at least pay them a visit and take them out for dinner.

The concept of Moshiach reflects the same approach. People promise to do great things. "When Moshiach will come, I'll learn G-d's Torah all day…I'll pray three times a day with a minyan…etc." Why only then and not now-why must we wait until Moshiach comes to do more and be better?

Another truism: The more tickets you buy, the larger the jackpot; the more participants there are, the larger the jackpot.

The same holds true for Moshiach and the era into which he will usher the world, an era of reward and peace for all mankind. The more mitzvoth you do, the larger the jackpot, and the more people you influence to do mitzvoth, the larger the jackpot.

Yet there is one difference between Lotto and Moshiach. In Lotto, there can be only one winner. With Moshiach, everyone is a winner.

Let us prepare and be ready. All you need is a mitzvah and a dream!