By the Grace of G-dPurim Koton, 5741Brooklyn, N. Y.
Dr. . . .
Greeting and Blessing:
It was gratifying to hear from our esteemed mutual friend, of the personal attention you extended to him together with your professional expertise.
Needless to say, such an attitude on the part of the doctor strengthens the patient's peace of mind and confidence, and goes a long way towards the success of the medical treatment and speeding the process of recovery.
Physical health goes hand in hand with spiritual health and, as you know, this principle has long been recognized in medical science, as expressed in the ancient adage, “mens sana in corpore sana.”1 A Jewish physician should, therefore, consider it his obligation, as a doctor and as a Jew, to help his Jewish patients by strengthening their bitochon in G-d and encouraging them to enrich their everyday experience of Torah and mitzvos. And insofar as non-Jewish patients are concerned to encourage them in the observance of the Divine moral laws, the so-called Seven Laws given to the children of Noah, that is to all mankind, which laws, and their ramifications, are the basis of any human society worthy of its name
Wishing you hatzlocho in all above, and with prayerful wishes to you and all your family.
With esteem and blessing,
Notes and sources
1) A Latin phrase, translated as "a healthy mind in a healthy body." This phrase is used to express the notion that mental and psychological well-being is an important and essential part of physical well-being.
Published: The Letter and the Spirit, Vol 3 (Nissan Mindel Publications, 2016), 237.
Note: Letters printed in "The Letter and the Spirit" are from the Archives of Rabbi Nissan Mindel A"H, the Rebbe's personal secretary entrusted with writing up the Rebbe's orally dictated responses. The “Nissan Mindel Archives” are comprised of secretarial copies, including first drafts, and may have subsequently been published with editorial changes. Therefore the letters as they appear in the book may not be the final signed version.