"Moshiach will not come until Coins run out from the Wallet"
We've explored a number of implications of this sign,
and how they've been fulfilled.
But the unpleasant Signs of Moshiach are not just temporary signals that serve their purpose and are then discarded, or a chapter in history that is (happily) archived after the onset of Redemption.
They are an intrinsic part of what Moshiach represents.
But in an era of great plenty,
Why do coins need to expire?
WARNING
THE EXPRESSIONS OF THIS SIGN WE HAVE EXPLORED SO FAR ARE THEMES WE ARE ALL FAMILIAR WITH.
THESE EXPRESSIONS WOULD HAVE SEEMED FAR-FETCHED IF WE WERE TO GO BACK IN TIME AND PREDICT THEM PRIOR TO THEIR ONSET.
WHEN WE GET TO THE FUTURE OF CURRENCY, IT MAY ALSO SEEM FAR-FETCHED.
CONSIDER HOW YOU WOULD HAVE FELT IF WE WERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFERS 200 YEARS AGO, OR CRYPTOCURRENCY 100 YEARS AGO...
The End of Physical Currencies
The Messianic Era will see physical trade reduce until eliminated.
How's that going to happen?
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The renewed nexus between the physical and spiritual worlds will naturally mean there'll be abundance of physicality.
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Conversely, physical wants will be reduced.
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So either way, there'll be no longer a need to earn money because you already have everything you want / need.
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Refer Moshiach for the Materialist article for more details.
All this means there'll be no money in the wallet.
The trend has already started. Money is slowly but surely disappearing:
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Physical wallets are already on their way out.
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Bank accounts are effectively a wallet and can produce physical cash (via ATM) but are no longer physical themselves.
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Cryptocurrencies go further. They are purely electronic. Where's your "money"?!
The mass "unemployment" resulting from the Redemption will not lead to boredom or mischief, because people will be busy with:
The Popularization of Spiritual Currencies
Everyone will be seeking to know the
Almighty G-d.
That'll be the sole occupation of the whole world.
Refer Moshiach for the Spiritual for more details.
The acquisition of this knowledge is not a one-time thing.
It goes on forever.
Similarly with the love and awe of G-d resulting from this knowledge — there are many, many levels:
The more knowledge — the more love and awe:
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More thirst (love) for higher knowledge, and
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More intense the feeling of nullity from the awesomeness of G-d (awe).
That's like in the "old world", when if you had $100, you wanted $200, but now in a spiritual sense.
Crossover — Charity
Physical and spiritual currency systems operate at completely different levels.
But there is a crossover:
Charity is a physical monetary investment that primarily brings spiritual returns (aside from physical returns).
One of these returns is love and awe of G-d
(spiritual currency).
How?
Emotions reside in the heart.
But the human heart has
Depth.
The deeper you go, the more profound the feelings you discover.
The human mind has no control over these deep feelings.
These feelings naturally relate to material matters. For example, pleasures that touch our core, or business dealings we’ve been totally invested in.
Making a serious donation to Charity (relative to the Donor’s financial ability) is money that:
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Was earned with sweat — not necessarily physical sweat but one where the deep dimensions of the heart were involved,
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Could have been spent on obtaining those essential pleasures, but instead —
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Is invested in Divine causes (for G-d)
Such donations therefore are the key to the inside of the heart: They
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Remove the material coarseness from those depths,
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Enable one to experience the G-dly emotions on the heavenly levels of a "Gift from Above". These intense levels are what will be popularly experienced in Messianic Times.
Limited Window
When times change, new stock
(which is up with the new times)
supersede old stock.
This could be:
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In the same line of production, for example new versions of iOS that eventually see older versions retire.
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Or new technology superseding another technology, like emails making facsimiles redundant.
There is a limited window before the old stock becomes obsolete and rendered worthless.
Physical money (and hence Charity)
will not be worth much once the Era of Redemption commences
(as explained above).
It is therefore wise to convert the physical currencies to spiritual currencies (via Charity) before such time.
Another lesson / reason for wallets to be empty before the Coming of Moshiach.
NOTES & REFERENCES
If someone has 100, he wants 200: Midrash Kohelet Rabba 1:13.
Charity is the crossover from the physical to the spiritual monetary system: See Tanya Pt. 4 Ch. 4. Aside from the reasons given there (and explained above, namely: (1) could have used the money to purchase materialism, and (2) the person's deep dimensions of the heart were typically used to earn the money), there are more reasons for this:
(3) Tanya Pt. 1 Ch. 37: Charity spiritualizes much more of the body than any other Commandment.
That's because the whole person has been invested in earning the money being given to Charity, as opposed to other Commandments whereby only a single faculty of the person is being used.
Spiritualizing the physical body and the world is what brings about the Messianic Age.
Hence, Charity is the catalyst behind the transition from physical to spiritual currencies (that would happen at that time).
(4) Charity takes the wind out of the sails of this world and plants it in the Next World:
In this world, accumulating wealth is the in-thing. This is not about (and goes far beyond) buying physical pleasures or earning cash with sweat and tears. It's the money in the bank, the worth in the financial markets, owning assets. That is "the way" of this world ("Currency" in a more generic form).
And Charity kills all that. It is a clear act of defying those worldly norms, whereby you let go of your physical worth in favor of a divine cause that brings about the Next World.