The Mishna (Maseches Sotah) details the events that will take place during ikvesah d’meshicha (the end of galus, prior to Mashiach - Rashi). “Chutzpah will increase, expenses will peak... the pnei ha’dor will be like the pnei ha’kelev... and we will not have anyone to lean on, only on our Father in Heaven. (The Mishna stresses that we will have no one else to rely upon.)
The mefarshim explain that the things mentioned in the Mishna are usually those things that give us a feeling of safety and security, in a sense preventing us from trusting entirely in Hashem. We believe that our money can help, and so Hashem will ensure that prices rise greatly. We believe in education, but that too will fall away amid the lack of truth in the world around us. Usually we trust in our leaders but in this era they will be disregarded. Moreover, “the face of the generation will be like the face of a dog”. A dog leads his master, it goes ahead, but it constantly looks back to see which direction its master wants him to go in. Likewise, our leaders will be populists, just doing what the crowd wants.
In other words, this Mishnah teaches us that in the times before Mashiach, Hashem will ensure that we feel, “ein anu al mi l’hisha’en ella al Avinu she’baShamayim”. He will take away all leaders who actually lead!
