Musar על ערכין 30:22

Money/silver - it is written "The tongue of the just is like choice silver" (Prov. 10:20) and it is also written "under the shadow of wisdom, under the shadow of silver" (Eccl. 7:12). Look and see the analogy of silver to speech and of silver to wisdom. There is a hint there, that they said "life and death are in the hands of the tongue, one who wants who live can do so because of the tongue, one who wants to die can do so because of the tongue" (Arakhin 15b). And they also said that the Torah is similar to a simple drug one who wants life [can get it through Torah] one who wants death [can get it through Torah] (Kidushin 30b). So too this we can say about the question of money: one who wants who live can do so because of the money, one who wants to die can do so because of the money - this is because most of the transgressions are caused due to a person being eager after money: robbing, stealing, exploitation, cheating, swearing falsely, swearing a lie, lies, unrighteousness in character traits [NT: could be 'in judgment' as עול במשפט makes more sense in the context of Torah list], moving boundaries, disputes, jealousy, hatred, rivalry, forbidden foods, desecration of Shabbat and holy days, and most of the transgressions that a person does is over gaining money, and the sin of desecrating God's Name is on top of them all. And so too, someone who loves their money cancels most of the mitzvot and the prayers and the blessings, and study of Torah corresponds to them all. And when such a person does them, they are unfit due to the doing them as fast as possible, and with miserliness, and the fact that one's heart is not into it, since that person's heart is only preoccupied with their own gain all the time, and they avert their eyes from [the needy by not giving] tzedakah, and when this person wants to do it, they really don't, and likewise many evils are done this way "riches kept for their owner to the owner's pwn hurt" (Eccl. 5:12) and at its hands one inherits Gehenna and goes down to the pit of destruction.