If the State Collapses Before Moshiach, What Will Be With Security, Economy, and Daily Life?
It’s a serious question, and one that touches the heart of many Jews: If the State of Israel were to collapse before Moshiach comes — politically, militarily, or economically — what would happen to the Jewish People living here?
Who would protect us? How would we eat, work, or live without a functioning government?
Charedim do not ignore these concerns. But they view the situation through a completely different lens — a Torah lens. Let’s explore what that means.
1. The State Is Not the Source of Our Survival
From a Charedi Torah perspective, the State of Israel — with all its institutions, army, and economic systems — is not what sustains the Jewish People.
The one and only source of our survival is HaKadosh Baruch Hu.
הֲלוֹא הוּא אָבִיךָ קָנֶךָ, הוּא עָשְׂךָ וַיְכֹנְנֶךָ. “Is He not your Father, your Creator? He made you and established you.” — Devarim 32:6 [1]
Hashem has kept Am Yisrael alive through every exile, pogrom, and government collapse in history — long before there was a modern state.
2. Collapse May Precede Geulah — And It’s Not a Disaster
The idea that a state might fall before Moshiach comes is not new. In fact, many Gedolim have suggested that part of the birur (spiritual clarification) before Geulah will involve the failure of false ideologies and man-made systems.
Rav Elchonon Wasserman zt”l, in his famous Ikvisa D’Meshicha essay, wrote:
"לא ייתכן שיבוא משיח לפני שיישברו כל הקישוטים החיצוניים, כל האשליות שיש ליהודים בגלות או בגאולה מדומה..." “Moshiach will not come before all the external decorations, all the illusions of false redemption, are shattered.” — Ikvisa D’Meshicha, end of essay [2]
That includes relying on armies, economies, or political systems in place of Hashem.
So if the State collapses before Moshiach, Charedim would not view it as a disaster — but as a step toward clarity and Geulah.
3. What Will Happen With Security?
This question often reflects a deep belief that only the IDF protects us. But Torah Jews believe what Chazal taught:
“אם תאמר יש לי כסף וזהב... יש לי גבורי חיל... כלום יש לך אלא אביך שבשמים.” “If one says, ‘I have money and strength,’… [Hashem says,] You have nothing but your Father in Heaven.” — Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Seitzei 2 [3]
Security comes from Hashem, not from tanks or governments. In Tanach, there were countless times when Klal Yisrael was saved by Hashem directly — even when they had no army at all.
And even today, the IDF has no power of its own. It succeeds only because Hashem wills it.
As Chazal say:
אין לנו על מי להישען אלא על אבינו שבשמים. “We have no one to rely on but our Father in Heaven.” — Sotah 49b [4]
If the state falls, Hashem remains.
4. What About the Economy? Will People Starve?
Let’s ask a deeper question: Who feeds us now? Is it the economy? The banks? The Knesset?
Or is it the One Who says:
פּוֹתֵחַ אֶת יָדֶךָ וּמַשְׂבִּיעַ לְכָל חַי רָצוֹן “You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living being.” — Tehillim 145:16 [5]
If the secular systems collapse, we trust Hashem to open new channels — just as He did in the desert with the mann, or in times of famine when tzaddikim davened and salvation came.
Rav Shach zt”l once said during the Gulf War:
"העולם מתנהל כמו מטוס שמאבד את המכשירים שלו. אבל אנחנו יודעים שיש טייס למעלה, והוא לא ישכח אותנו." “The world is flying like a plane that lost its instruments. But we know there is a pilot above, and He will not forget us.” — Heard in a shmuess, 1991 [6]
5. How Will Daily Life Function?
We do not know exactly what Hashem will do. But Charedim believe He will not abandon His people. If Jews must reorganize services, build local economies, or take care of each other, then they will. They have done it for centuries.
Charedi kehillos are already self-sufficient in many areas — education, food, social support, gemachs, health clinics, and housing. While challenges would exist, it is possible to live without a secular state.
And more importantly — it is worth it if it brings the Geulah closer.
6. Will There Be Chaos or Clarity?
It may look like chaos to the world. But to eyes of emunah, it will be clarity: the illusion of man-made redemption will fall, and Klal Yisrael will finally lift their eyes upward.
שָׁוְא לָכֶם מַשְׁכִּימֵי קוּם... כֵּן יִתֵּן לִידִידוֹ שֵׁנָא “It is in vain that you rise early… for Hashem provides for His beloved even in their sleep.” — Tehillim 127:2 [7]
Conclusion: The Collapse of Falsehood Is the Birth of Truth
From the Charedi perspective, if the State of Israel collapses before Moshiach comes, it will be painful, but not tragic. It will be frightening, but not hopeless. Because it will be the breaking of false trust — and the awakening of true emunah.
And then, without illusions, without secular nationalism, Klal Yisrael will cry out for Moshiach, for Torah, and for the Shechinah to return to Tzion.
And Hashem will answer.
Sources
- Devarim 32:6 — הֲלוֹא הוּא אָבִיךָ קָנֶךָ
- Rav Elchonon Wasserman, Ikvisa D’Meshicha
- Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Seitzei 2 — אין לך אלא אביך שבשמים
- Sotah 49b — אין לנו על מי להישען אלא על אבינו שבשמים
- Tehillim 145:16 — פותח את ידך
- Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach, personal shmuess, 1991
- Tehillim 127:2 — כן יתן לידידו שינה