Wealth in the Days before Moshiach

Looking out of his window one day, the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman (1745-1812) observed the street being cleaned: the garbage was swept together into a little pile, and then a number of piles were swept together into a big mound.

The Alter Rebbe commented to his family, "This is how things will look before Moshiach comes. Today, wealth is in the hands of many people. But before Moshiach comes, money will be concentrated either in the hands of a few private individuals or in the hands of the government."

From Exile to Redemption, reprinted with permission from Sichos in English