The Torah tells us, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” (Genesis 27:22). Our Rabbis have taught that “the voice of Jacob,” the heartfelt prayers and Torah study of the Jewish people, can nullify the designs of “the hands of Esau,” the violent plans of our foes.

There is a popular adage, “Think good, and things will be good.” This implies that our positive thoughts influence the actual course of events and assure that, in fact, the ultimate outcome will be good.

The above surely applies in the present context. May the only outcome of the schemes of our foes, “the hands of Esau,” be the increase in the “the voice of Jacob,” our prayer and Torah study. The Torah has promised, “If you walk in My statutes” — interpreted by our Sages to mean, “If you labor in Torah study” — “...I will grant peace in the land. You will sleep without fear” (Leviticus 26:3, 6).

Devoting oneself to Torah study with an absolute commitment will uproot and nullify any and all possible negative influences. There is “an advantage to wisdom over foolishness like the advantage of light over darkness.” Indeed, negating the foolishness of our enemies will bring about an increase in wisdom, Torah knowledge, and an increase in light, including the ultimate light, the Messianic redemption.

Therefore, each individual should increase, every person according to his own capacity, his study of Torah, fusing the teachings of Torah law with the esoteric dimensions revealed in the teachings of Chassidus.

Also, there should be an increase in the realm of prayer. Everyone should recite at least three additional chapters of Psalms including the final psalm, Psalm 150, which concludes, “Let every being that has a soul praise the L‑rd. Halleluyah.” This verse emphasizes how every person thanks and praises G‑d for the blessings and good that He has granted him and will continue to grant him.

We should also act with our hands, giving generously to charity. In other times, the response to the present situation would be to declare communal fasts. In keeping with the approach of “thinking good,” such fasts are not appropriate. Nevertheless, it is appropriate to “redeem” the fasts through an increase in charity. Therefore, it is proper that each person donate the value of three meals to charity, preferably, to be given to people who study Torah or to institutions involved in spreading Torah wherever possible.

These points should be publicized so that they reach each and every Jew, man, woman, and child. No one should be frightened or cause others to fear, but everyone should appreciate the need to increase, in a spirit of happiness and security, their Torah study, prayer, and gifts to charity. Everyone should also think of additional activities that he or she can carry out, following the above guidelines.

All of these activities will be enhanced by the influence of the present month, the month of Nissan, associated by our Sages with “miracles of a truly miraculous nature,” and the present year, “a year of miracles.”

Surely, if we “think good, things will be good,” and we will merit the ultimate good, the coming of Mashiach.