It is a form of buried hatred, self-hatred, fear, resentment, disappointment, or pain that became too much to feel directly, so the personality shuts down.
Prayer is one of the tools for transforming that inner hatred into relationship and responsibility.
But prayer only works that way when a person is not just performing words. A person has to begin with the belief that there is a Creator, that the Creator is good, and that even in numbness, confusion, shame, or distance, the person is still loved by Him.
That belief does not usually become real from craving relief alone, from wanting the numbness to stop, from trying to force yourself to feel spiritual, or from the pain being intense enough that you need something to change. It begins through meditation.
A person thinks about how great the Creator must be, that everything exists only because He gives it existence every moment, that He knows the whole story of a person’s life, and still desires relationship with human beings.
This is why Chabad Chassidus teachings matter so much. Chassidus does not only tell a person to feel more.
It explains what to think about until awe, trust, and gratitude become emotionally possible again. That is also why Chabad leadership matters for this generation. Leadership is guidance, it’s not about joining their personal community.
The Jewish people always described Moses as a leader because his Five Books guide us, not because of his physical presence alone. A real leader gives people the ideas they need in order to return to relationship with The Creator.
After centuries of persecution, exile, trauma, confusion, and emotional numbness, many Jewish people inherited a nervous system that struggles to feel trust. So atheistic, random, or emotionally disconnected beliefs become easier to absorb.
Not always because a person thought through them deeply, but because numbness makes relationship with The Creator feel far away. Chabad Chassidus gives the mind a different structure.
It explains why belief in a good Creator is more logical, more healing, and more emotionally honest than believing life is random. Because to heal from generational trauma, a person needs deep meaning for suffering.
The deepest meaning comes from believing that existence is created by a good Creator, that concealment is not abandonment, and that life is asking for relationship and responsibility.
The nervous system is not moved by abstract slogans. In many ways, the nervous system reacts like a very young child.
When the mind keeps telling it, “Life is random,” “anything can happen for no reason,” or “there is no loving structure behind existence,” the body moves toward survival mode more often.
That survival mode becomes people-pleasing, avoidance, control/abuse, resentment, shame, or emotional shutdown. But when the mind is given truth to think about, a person slowly becomes emotionally available.
Then awe begins. Awe is not simple fear.
Awe is a blend of sadness, fear, and wonder.
Sadness, because His goodness is always able to be more revealed.
Fear, because if life comes from Him, then life is about responsibility.
Wonder, because the Infinite Creator desires relationship with human beings.
After awe, a deeper joy is felt, because the person is no longer trapped inside numbness, hatred, or self-hatred.
They are standing in relationship. That is when prayer becomes powerful.
Prayer is not just saying spiritual words.
Prayer is where buried hatred becomes honesty, honesty becomes awe, awe becomes trust, trust becomes gratitude, gratitude becomes responsibility, and responsibility becomes relationship. Without that inner movement, prayer becomes performance.
With it, prayer becomes repair.
More guides:
Chabad rabbis being generational leaders for the Jewish people doesn’t mean people should send their kids to chabad schools or copy chabad culture.
It simply means they revealed teachings the generation needs in order to return to relationship with The Creator.
Lots of Lubavitcher Chassidim misinterpret what the Chabad Rebbeim wrote or said.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe is the only generational leader that lived after the holocaust, the Rambam and the Arizal are also generational leaders.
How to understand curses in the Hebrew Bible.
If you want to go deeper into this work, explore the NextSelf 2026 and 2025 Indexes.
It organizes the core ideas on awareness, compassion, boundaries, and how they build real relationship and responsibility with The Creator.
