MONEY AND LIVELIHOOD.
10. Whenever a person falls from his level, the fundamental reason is always the desire for money. … For the same reason, when the enemies of the tzaddik stir up opposition against him, and God wants to chase them away, He causes them to fall into lust for money. There is no greater fall than this.
As a general rule, in times of controversy and strife, the greater the purity with which a person guards the covenant and the closer he is to the tzaddik, the greater his power to resist his opponents and throw them down. And when they fall, it is into lust for money. Thus, one who finds himself involved in a dispute should be very careful not to succumb to the temptations of wealth (Likutey Moharan I, 23:3).
11. The mitzvah of mezuzah is a remedy for the lust for money. When you observe this mitzvah carefully, your livelihood will fly into your hands! (ibid. I, 23:4).
12. As long as a person is reluctant to spend money on the mitzvot he performs, his mitzvot are deficient because they have not yet entered the category of true faith. When a mitzvah is so precious in his eyes that he doesn’t mind parting with his money and spends liberally for the sake of the mitzvah, this is called faith. For the essence of a person’s faith is seen in his relation to money (ibid. I, 23:5).