MONEY AND LIVELIHOOD.
1. Worthless pursuits and malicious gossip can lead only to poverty. Pride also causes poverty. The remedy is to give charity, which brings blessing and prosperity (Likutey Moharan I, 4:8).
2. Immorality can deprive a person of his livelihood (ibid. I, 7:5).
3. Intense prayer makes one worthy of one’s livelihood (ibid. I, 9:2).
4. The less careful a person is about upholding his moral standards, the more unpleasantness and hardship he will experience in his efforts to earn a living (ibid. I, 11:4).
5. In order to draw God’s providence upon ourselves completely, it is necessary to break the desire for wealth. The way to do this is by giving charity. When a person gives money to charity, it cools his urge to acquire. He will conduct his business affairs truthfully and honestly, he will be satisfied with his portion in life, and he will have pleasure and contentment from what God has blessed him with. Because he is not desperate to get rich, he is free of the constant struggle to make extra profit. The burden of this struggle is the fulfillment of the curse “By the sweat of your brow you will eat bread” (Genesis 3:19). Giving charity frees a person from this. It is accounted to him as if he had made an incense-offering before God (Likutey Moharan I, 13:1).