Mendy Levy knew the exact moment that he'd had enough of the rules he'd been living by his whole life.
Mendy was 15 years old with few of the life experiences other young men his age have. He was born into the extreme fundamentalist Jewish sect of Lev Tahor. Mendy was just a teen when Lev Tahor's leader, Nachman Helbrans, allegedly commanded Mendy to marry his 12-year-old first cousin.
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Helbrans' father, Shlomo Helbrans, founded Lev Tahor in 1988. Receiving an order from the leader was terrifying and left no room for objection for Mendy. That's when he thought about leaving that life behind.
"I knew it was wrong. After a Friday night service, Nachman [gathered us] to make an engagement," the now 18-year-old told the New York Post.
"She was crying loud, and I didn't want to do it. Finally, at 7 o'clock in the morning, we agreed — verbally, but not emotionally. The rabbi dipped a piece of bread in borscht, gave it to me and said, 'Mazel tov, you are engaged.'"
Mendy didn't feel like he had a choice but to go ahead with what was planned for him.
"I feared, I would be charim," he said, using the Yiddish term for ostracized.
"I feared that they could lock me up and beat me."
Mendy's experience wasn't uncommon for those living in Lev Tahor. In November, a federal jury in New York convicted Nachman Helbrans and coleader Mayer Rosner. They were charged with, among other things, conspiracy to transport a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. They are currently awaiting sentencing.
According to the Department of Justice charges, Helbrans allegedly arranged for his 13-year-old niece from Woodridge, New York, to marry a 19-year-old man. She was instructed to have a sexual relationship with him for the purpose of procreating. Young mothers in the fundamentalist group were made to give birth in private homes instead of hospitals so that their ages wouldn't come into question.
A source who chose to remain anonymous told the New York Post that the group is "a convoluted interpretation of Judaica, which believes that when a boy or girl hits maturity, at 12 or 13 years old, they have an obligation to get married.
"Nothing about this cult is unique or creative. But it became more archaic and problematic when Nachman took over. He is a complete sociopath."
"One of their big things is extortion," the source continued.
"Telling people, for example, that if they want to talk to their children before Yom Kippur, they have to donate money."
The group started with six members, which included Mendy's grandparents.
After coming from Israel to the United States in 1990, the group recruited more members. In 1994, Shlomo Helbrans was convicted of kidnapping a 13-year-old boy, and he served two years in jail. Afterward, the group moved into Canada, settling in Montreal, where Mendy was born.
Mendy recalled what a typical day in his life was like.
"You'd get up in the morning and be taught religious lessons until 8 o'clock at night. Your mom filled out a form, which we brought to school each day and gave to the rabbi," he shared.
"If you had prayed and behaved, she made a check. If you did something wrong, she made an X. If there were X's on your form, the teachers hit you … They enjoyed it."
"If I laughed during class, I got smacked in the face. Then you might be made to stand in front of the class with a pacifier in your mouth. They humiliated you," he continued.
"They said that for doing the wrong things, you would go to hell. And the sins were removed when they hit you."
The group continued encountering issues which necessitated moves. They went from Quebec to Ontario to Guatemala. They were living in tents in Guatemala in 2016, when Mendy's father died under mysterious circumstances. He and his 10 siblings, the youngest being an infant, were forced to go live with other families.
"They said that my mother would not be able to discipline us in a religious way," he recalled.
When Mendy was presented with the situation with his cousin, he was given directions on how it would work.
"You do not need to marry her here. First we will send you to Canada. Then we will send her. You will live a beautiful life there," he recalls being told.
Mendy was given a written document from his mother granting him permission to travel. He was able to see her one more time before he left.
"She was crying and did not know what they would do with me. But she and I did not hug. You are not allowed to hug your mother."
Mendy was left in a hotel room alone the night before his travels. He was given a phone in case anyone needed to get in contact with him. Once he was alone, he ignored the warnings he was given and started trying to make calls on the phone.
"There were some contacts [programmed] inside," he said.
"I pressed one and there was no answer. The second number, a guy answered. He told me he used to donate money to Lev Tahor. He was in another country. I told him who I am, what my situation was, and that I need to get out."
The person he called sympathized with Mendy's situation, having been in a similar one. He reached out to someone who could help, and they, in turn, sent a cab for Mendy that night. The man, who joined the Hasidic community, allowed Mendy to stay in his home as he acclimated to life outside of Lev Tahor.
Thanks to him, Mendy is now finishing high school in Quebec and living with a foster family that follows the tenets of modern Judaism. In his free time, he DJs and dates. Though he misses his mother and cousin, whom he has been unable to contact since his escape, he doesn't regret his decision to get out.
