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Most Jews agree that to just wait around for the Messiah to come is fruitless. We have to wait actively, and here are a few suggestions which we have picked up from various sources as to how to wait actively:
1) Beat your swords into plowshares. This idea is taken from Isaiah 2:4. where all the nations shall follow suit. By starting the process, you make the job easier to do. This act leads onto the next idea:
2) Plant a tree. "If you are planting a tree and somebody tells you the Messiah has come, plant the tree and then go and welcome the Messiah". To plant a tree is a good deed in itself, but to plant a tree, hoping for the Messiah to come while you do so is more positive. It also makes the place look nicer!
3) Practice Mitzvot and Gemilut Chasidim. Charity and acts of loving kindness are essential to the life of a child of G-d. However, no person can practice every single mitzvah or always do good, so therefore we try to change just one thing at a time. Perform a mitzvah so often that it becomes habit, and then start on a new one.
4) Study. How can the Jews be used as spiritual guides when the Messiah comes if they don't know anything (Zech 8:23). Fair enough, they shall be endowed with knowledge of G-d, but to get a head start can only be beneficial. Therefore, study of the Bible, particularly sections pertaining to the Messiah, must surely bring him closer; not only for the Jew but the non-Jewish believers as well.
There are other ways, I'm sure, to bring about the Messiah, most of which are positive not just towards ourselves, but to others as well. This is the key to the Messianic ideal - by working towards a better world we create a better world.