Rabbi Moshe Krieger from Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah, quotes Rav Aharon Kotler zt"l and says:
A difference between the closeness to Hashem achieved through Torah compared to that achieved through tefillah. Davening depends completely on the davener. If we humble ourselves before Hashem and direct our hearts to Him in prayer, we become closer to Hashem. The closeness is achieved through our efforts. With Torah, however, Hashem is the One speaking to us. He is pulling us closer. Even if our hearts are not completely in it, Torah will still have an effect on us. This is as the Talmud Yerushalmi (Chagigah 1:7) puts it: “If only they would have left Me but kept My Torah, the light within it would have returned them to the good.”
Where did Rav Kotler zt"l write this? Is there a source for this?
I did a quick search in משנת רבי אהרן but could not find anything unfortunately.
