Mrs. Terri Naiditch, a member of the Lubavitch community in Pittsburgh, once received the following letter from her father:

“In the fall of 1985, I went for a check-up shortly before my crucial business season started, as was my habit in those years.

“I was referred to a dermatologist to confirm that a mole on my back had all the earmarks of a malignant melanoma a potentially lethal affliction that can spread cancer throughout the body. He in turn sent me to the Mayo Clinic to see about having the mole removed.

“At the Mayo Clinic, I asked the head of the dermatology unit to tell me frankly whether the thing was malignant, for I was also suffering intense pain from a botched root canal, and was so discouraged by the pain and worry that I was considering early retirement. He not only confirmed that it was malignant, but even had his whole staff come in and look at my mole, evidently as a textbook example of a melanoma. (I had studied a pamphlet on this disorder, and had seen for myself that mine was identical to one of the most graphic illustrations.)

“Upon hearing of my planned operation, you and Pinky appealed to Rebbe Menachem Schneerson to intercede on my behalf, which he generously did.

“You know the sequel: When the operation took place, the tissue was sent out for the obligatory biopsy, and only moments after I was sewn up, the surgeon returned with the greeting: ‘Boy, were you lucky! It’s not malignant!’

“Now, you know that your mother and our dear friends the Dotys were there with me, and that their prayers and others were offered for me. The unique thing in my appreciation, though, was the help of the Rebbe. I do not make any claim I do not feel qualified to do so that G‑d saved me from this life-threatening malady because of the Rebbe’s intervention. Yet I have complete faith in the Mayo Clinic’s staff and their diagnosis, and to me this experience cannot be explained in purely logical terms. I shall always feel a debt to, and a special affection for, the Rebbe may his memory be a blessing to us all.

“Love,

“Dad”

Now, Mrs. Naiditch is a convert; her father, John Huff, is not Jewish. Nonetheless, when a blessing was requested for him, the Rebbe responded.