Rabbi overcomes his stomach cancer by focusing on vision.
Written By: Chris Yaccato
I was recently let go from my job and if any one has ever experienced losing a job they certainly know what I’m feeling; a sense of despair, depressed, and an un-bearable feeling of a loss of self-confidence.
However grim things seem now though, I know that I will be up on my feet again and will survive, after all I do have my health.
Facing this occurrence got me thinking about those that find themselves in a situation of actually surviving, circumstances worth talking about. I had thought about people surviving ordeals of uncontrollable action caused by another, an accident or to have survived a diagnosis of cancer. The latter real had me thinking, I couldn’t fathom being diagnosed with cancer and then to go through the agony of coming to terms with my diagnosis, let alone to think that I could indeed “survive” cancer.
During my reflection I began to think about a friend of mine. I think his situation would be a worthy circumstance to talk about.
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I met Rev. Rabbi Paul M. Sheldon a little over ten years ago at a political convention held at the Hotel Constellation near the Toronto airport- we met in the hotel lobby bar, where every good political soldier find’s themselves at a convention (we were introduced by the owner of Toronto’s famous adult entertainment club, the House of Lancaster.)
When you meet individuals at these conventions you tend to keep those contacts close- as I was beginning my career in politics I felt I need to keep a “contact list” of individuals I have met-who knows when they will come in handy. Anyway, as we got to know each other over the years, as people do, you discuss matter’s in life; politics, religion, health, etc….
As we discussed the topic of health one day I recalled at an early age I was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)-an sum of acronyms that would give a doctor a run for their money.
Not expecting to be out done by the Rabbi, who turned to me, nodded as if agreeing that I had indeed a challenging youth, educated me that he was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1967 and was given less then three years to live; “you wouldn’t believe what I experienced…I was bleeding every which way, coughing up blood constantly… I was extremely depressed,” said the Rabbi. I remember, looking back now, feeling quite insignificant in scope to the Rabbis ordeal.
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At the time Rev. Rabbi Paul Sheldon was a Canadian born Cantor working at Rodfei Zedek Congregation in Chicago, Illinois- at age 26 a prodigy and fast becoming something of a legend.
However well he was doing in his career, his health was a different story. After his yearly physical the Rabbi was given disturbing news by his doctor, “Paul, your tests came back positive… I’m sorry to say, you have stomach cancer”
There was an immediate shock to the Rabbi’s system “I have cancer, how can this be…I’m too young.” Unfortunately for the Rabbi stomach cancer, like other cancers, don’t discriminate against age.
As the Rabbi learned, stomach cancer is commonly associated with men-all ages-and is associated with a high salt diet, smoking, and a low intake of fruits and vegetables. Exactly the diet the Rabbi so famously follows.
Like other cancers, treatment is best adapted to fit a person's individual needs and “depends on the size, location, and extent of the tumour, the stage of the disease”, and person’s general overall health.
Unfortunately, because early stomach cancer causes few symptoms, the disease is usually advanced when the diagnosis is made. Treatment for stomach cancer may include surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation therapy. However, cancer of the stomach is difficult to cure unless it is caught at an early stage (before it has had a chance to spread).
The good news for the Rabbi was that they caught it early enough and he was able to, “At the time the Rabbi was not following traditional medical practices of the time. He believed in alternative treatments, “I was able to seek out alternative treatments that would fit [my] lifestyle.”
As a Cantor in Chicago the daily stress of being a “legend” was too much pressure on the Rabbi, not to mention the fact that his wife was pregnant with their first child, and the war in Vietnam was all consuming the mental and physical energy of the United States.
Marshall Korshak a U.S Senator who was a part of the Rabbi’s congregation said half jokingly, ”it would be advisable to go back to Canada, if this war continues and your child becomes of age he/she may be drafted”
So the decision was made to head for home. After settling into Toronto the Rabbi began to have extraordinary dreams-which he immediately linked them to his diagnosis.
In one such dream God came to him and quoted Psalm 121, “I will left up my eyes to the mountains, where shall my help come, from the Lord the creator of Heaven and Earth” and Psalm 23, “the Lord is my Sheppard, I shall not want, He maketh me lay down in green pastures”
The Rabbi just couldn’t understand these dreams, and then came the burning bush. As the Rabbi began to make himself at home in Toronto’s Jewish community he saw a community in growth. This is where his dreams came to light. He attributed the dreams to a vision he saw as he noticed the growth in the community. The vision was a new funeral home for his community, lead by the feeling that “you’re going to die and to be buried at either of the funeral homes offered to my community was unacceptable, “there was an infestation of mice in those [funeral] homes…during the service mice would overwhelmed the funeral home…I wanted no part”
So the quest began to build a funeral home, a feat on its own, at the same time as dealing with his cancer.
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While the Rabbi focused on building his funeral home he re focused his energy and subsequently began to forget about his diagnosis, “I soon forgot about my health and was strictly focused on following my calling,” said the Rabbi.
Accordingly to Dr. John Malcomson, a specialist dealing with mental compulsions like O.C.D, has suggested that when the mind is pre-occupied there is a chance- for example those who have been diagnosed with OCD; tend to focus their [thoughts], in a compulsive manner, on a specific item, you preoccupy the mind to focus solely on that manner.”
Some have suggested that through this preoccupation the Rabbi perhaps could, unbeknownst to him, found a sort of mental alternative treatment to cure his cancer. Although it must be noted that this is a theory only and this author takes no responsibility what so ever in offering this suggestion up as fact.
Although the Rabbi was focused on building his vision the community was not so sure.According to the Rabbi most had laughed at such an idea, “another funeral home… we don’t need one” said one of the Rabbi’s friends if you can believe.
The Jewish community at the time numbered around 150,000 to 200,000 and was served by two funeral homes. However, the community was in growth.The Rabbi’s idea to provide a third funeral home at Bathurst and Steeles, at that time nothing but farmland and quite far from the centre of Toronto’s Jewish community.
Even his mentor, Rabbi Dr. David Monson scoffed at his suggestion, “there’s no way it will happen...you’re crazy…impossible.”
However the opinion of his fellow community the Rabbi pressed ahead with a few devoted followers, including Steven Polon a successful land developer. A year after his dreams he succeeded in building Steele’s Memorial Chapel, now the busiest Jewish funeral home in Toronto.
A little after a month of reaching his calling the Rabbi visited Mt.SinaiHospital. Five years had since passed when the Rabbi was given only three years to live. A sense of confusion as to why he was still alive persisted him everyday and he needed answers.
Of course after a hard 5 years battling his inner and outer demons the Doctor was not expecting an overtly healthy patient to walk into the testing room, “Paul you seem in great spirits…let’s see where we are shall we.”
Just little over two weeks later the Rabbi received a call from his family physician informing him that there was “nothing wrong with [him]”
“What a relief. I followed Gods’ will and he awarded me life.”
This revelation certainly changed the Rabbi’s view of life. He soon began to look at life in a greater context. He challenged his religious faith, even shifting from his Orthodox ways to Conservative. HE needed to be a new person, “God granted me a new lease on life and I wanted to be able to share my experience with all of God’s creatures.”
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Throughout the entire time the Rabbi had a sense of purpose that drove him to overcome the challenges he faced.
When I met him he was fine, enjoying life to its fullest. The Rabbi had vision, a vision he built facing a reluctant community and a body taken by disease. He never succumbed to his critics and focused his mental energy to produce a positive outcome. By not letting himself be beaten he set his mental sights on a worthy goal that helped him overcome his disease.
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This is Chris Yaccato’s first article. For comments please e-mail:
