Written by Joseph Elbaz

On Wednesday morning many Valley Torah students including myself expected to endure another day at school. Instead we were all surprised when Rabbi Semmel announced that instead of our 4th period, a guest speaker would be coming to share his life story. We all expected a very important Rabbi to come and talk about Torah which we all would enjoy, but instead when walking into the Beis Medrash someone different stood behind the red Bimah. This person was not wearing a suit, nor a white long beard. Rather, he had a crew-cut with tzitzit hanging down his white buttoned shirt, and he looked no older than some of our older siblings. As we sat down in our chairs we knew this speech was going to be an enjoyable one. 

The man was introduced by Rabbi Grama who said he had spent 7 years in federal prison. Many faces looked astounded because this individual did not look like a criminal. In addition, many people such as myself wondered why Rabbi Stulberger would want a former felon to come to our school. This was not because of any sort of danger, but Valley Torah has never been known for having a criminal problem and the relevance of this individual after hearing he had gone to prison for multiple years was questionable. However, when his speech started, all of my questions were answered.

The speaker’s name was Shawn Balva and he explained what he did that led him to prison and his notable journey through his remarkable experience. First, he described his life before prison which sounded far from normal. First, he noted how he was born into a fragmented house where his parents divorced when he was just a young child. He stated how this caused him anxiety and led him to a life of addiction in many forms. One form he found was in football which he became good at very quickly. He recounted his experience with NFL players who guided him in the right direction and recognized his talent. In addition, he told us about his drug and alcohol addictions that arose when he started high school and the conflict that presented with wanting to go to the NFL. He emphasized one key idea: how one bad decision changed his life for the absolute worst.

He explained how in the beginning of his senior year of high school, he decided to stop his addiction in order to make sure he was able to compete and succeed on the football field. He heard about the drug tests, and he did not want to jeopardize the efforts of both himself and his mother for some drugs. After 3 games, he was peer-pressured to go to a party and do drugs and drink alcohol. The next day he was surprisingly drug tested and kicked off the team. In one moment, his entire life was destroyed by one decision. Following that, he described how his life went downhill and into darkness.

After this devastating moment Shawn got once again addicted to drugs and said how for about a year straight he was doing drugs the entire day. Eventually, he got so intoxicated he robbed 7 stores while armed with a gun and under the influence of 5 drugs. He was caught and faced up to 65 years in prison, but received bail after 8 months. While out of jail he got addicted to drugs again and turned himself in to avoid danger to those around him. His experience in jail was one of the most shocking and breathtaking experiences I have ever heard in my life.

He described jail as an experience that changed him mentally and in essence brought Judaism to his attention. In jail he decided that in order to cure himself he must find God and Judaism, his birth religion. One day he found a pamphlet that had the Yom Kippur schedule which he didn’t understand the importance of yet. Despite his lack of understanding, he decided to keep this holiday by fasting. After not eating until the time indicated on the paper, Shawn broke his fast with a dish of nachos.  A cellmate whom he believed was a Nazi affiliate told him how he was not acting correctly and basically brought the concept of kosher to his attention. After that moment, Shawn started keeping kosher and davening. This single encounter from a person who opposed Jews, pushed him to change. While in jail he also found a Jew who led a minyan by himself. This Jew taught him how to put on Tefillin and daven. Shawn’s Judaism only grew and grew while in jail. 

While in jail, he also told us how he was transferred to a California prison which was very dangerous. One day, the entire prison decided to boycott the officers, and Shawn told us how he was the only member who did not boycott. As a result, he was violently beaten up which showed him that he must move to a different prison. He moved to a prison in New York that was convenient for him because there were Rabbis who were imprisoned there. While in that jail he was immersed in learning about Judaism, and grew to his potential. Two years later, standing in front of a group of Jewish high-school students, Shawn inspired many students to strive not to make the mistakes he made, and to trust Hashem through the hardships they personally go through every day.