Likutei Moharan 8:7/ליקוטי מוהר"ן ח׳:ז׳

17. This matter [of Torah and prayer] is as follows: The Tikkuney Zohar (#13, p.29b; #14, 30a) states: “Gan (the garden) is the Torah.” The Torah is called a garden. The Jewish souls who M’AYeNim (delve into) and understand the Torah are the various types of grasses which grow in the garden. What makes them grow? [They draw] from the MaAYaN (fountain), which is chokhmah (wisdom), as in (Song of Songs 4:15), “A fountain of gardens….”

2From where do they receive the wisdom and intellect—this fountain? It comes from prayer, as is written (Joel 4:18), “A fountain will flow from the house of God.” And this [“house of God”] is prayer, as in (Isaiah 56:7), “For My house is a house of prayer.”

3[Prayer] is the medium for actualizing the potential. Prayer is the aspect of “renewing the world.” This is because prayer <corresponds to faith,> for he believes that there is a M’chadesh (an Originator) capable of changing nature as He pleases. Thus [prayer] corresponds to potential creation, as in (Psalms 104:24), “You made them all with wisdom.” This alludes to prayer, from where the fountain of wisdom flows.

4And Torah corresponds to actualized creation, as in (Proverbs 8:30), “I was as His amone (nurseling).” <Do not read this AMoNe but> UMaN (architect), which connotes actualized [creation], for with the Torah the world was created.

5Thus, when a person prays for something, it is an aspect of renewing the world and is synonymous with creation in potential. It also corresponds to an arousal of wisdom, which is in the prayer. As previously mentioned, “A fountain will flow from the house of God”—this is prayer, for that is where the wisdom is aroused. From there the fountain, the wisdom, is drawn to the Torah. And there [in the Torah] it goes <from potential> to actual, as in (Proverbs 2:6), “[For God gives wisdom]: from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.” <The Torah is> the revelation of the wisdom, and through this the “fountain of gardens” is made. The fountain waters the garden and causes the grasses to grow.

6{“Extended longing makes the heart ache, but with the Tree of Life desire is fulfilled” (Proverbs 13:12).} This is the meaning of what our Sages taught: Someone who is M’AYaiN (looks deeply) into his prayers comes to heartache. As is written, “Extended longing makes the heart ache…” (Berakhot 32b). What is his cure? Let him engage in Torah study, as is written, “… but with the Tree of Life desire is fulfilled.”

7As we have said, [as long as that which a person wants] is in prayer, it is still in potential. It only becomes concretized when it comes to the Torah, which is the aspect of actualized creation. Then, that which he asks for is done—having gone from potential to actual.

8And this is as it is written, “A river flows from Eden to water the garden. And from there it separates, becoming four tributaries” (Genesis 2:10).

9Eden — This corresponds to prayer. As our Sages taught (Berakhot 34b): Eden—“No eye has seen it” (Isaiah 64:3). And [“no eye has seen it”] applies to prayer, which transcends nature. For nature can be changed through prayer. {Eden is “no eye has seen it” because we cannot fathom that which transcends nature.} And this is:

10A river flows from Eden — I. e., from prayer, as mentioned above, “A fountain will flow from the house of God.” “… to water the garden”—this is the Torah, as mentioned, the “fountain of gardens.”

11And when the fountain of wisdom from prayer is drawn to the garden—the Torah—then it causes the grasses—the Jewish souls—to grow. In other words, [the Jewish souls] grow in the garden, they gain understanding and intelligence of the Torah. Then they merit “delving into the depths of the law,” in order to determine <the correct> law: <the permitted, kosher and pure from the impure, unkosher and forbidden>. By doing so, they separate the good from the bad. This is the meaning of:

12from there it separates — By [clarifying the law] the bad is separated out of the four elements. Only the good remains. Then:

13becoming four tributaries — These are the four letters YHVH, which are the root of the good found in the four elements, as above.