Mendy Levy: Escaping The Extremist Lev Tahor Cult & Finding Hashem

Inspiration for the Nation with Yaakov Langer

Mendy Levy was born in 2003 in Canada to parents who were members of Lev Tahor, an extremist Jewish cult founded in the 1980s. Shunned by members of other Jewish groups and facing a kidnapping scandal, its leader Shlomo Helbrans had moved Lev Tahor to Canada in the 1990s. Helbrans then moved the group to Guatemala in 2014, in the wake of child abuse investigations in Quebec.

Levy escaped the group in 2018 and now splits his time between Canada and New York. Shlomo Helbrans drowned in Guatemala in 2017. US authorities arrested his son, Nachman Helbrans, and other Lev Tahor leaders in late 2018 and 2021. They're currently on trial in federal court in New York on kidnapping and fraud charges, to which they've pleaded not guilty.

The remainder of Lev Tahor, which numbers an estimated 300 people, continues to live in Guatemala and has been unsuccessfully trying to move to Iran.

Check & support Mendy's awesome photography work here: https://www.instagram.com/mendy.levy/?hl=en

____________________________________ ✬ SPONSOR OF THIS EPISODE ✬ ____________________________________

► The Book Every Parent Needs!

Finally! A book that integrates the Torah’s wisdom and cutting-edge psychological research to provide a comprehensive approach to educating and supporting our sons and students regarding health and safety, puberty, marital intimacy, and today’s challenges to kedushah.

Through kind and generous donors, you can get this book for just an $18 donation towards Living Lchaim (this includes free shipping!)

► GET YOUR BOOK HERE: https://www.livinglchaim.com/drz

____________________________________

► New Yiddish Podcast!

ShmueliCast is a fun & vibrant podcast for fun & vibrant people by a fun & vibrant person. Cool guests, gripping stories, and if you’re still reading this, great, because it’s important to care about all the little stuff, and not just focus on the big. Here’s to you. Here’s to ShmueliCast.

► WATCH HERE https://www.youtube.com/@ShmueliCast

LISTEN HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shmuelicast/id1693139726

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/57sZtsNpZcjijVySx5qHfW

____________________________________

LIVING LCHAIM WHATSAPP GROUP

Get exclusive insider sneak peeks to upcoming episodes in our Living Lchaim group: https://bit.ly/44sjUIO

This episode is in memory of:

• Shimon Dovid ben Yaakov Shloima

• Miriam Sarah bas Yaakov Moshe

Our free call-in-to-listen feature is here:

• USA: [phone]

• UK: 0333-366-0154

• ISRAEL: 079-579-5088

Follow us on social media for more content:

• TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@livinglchaim

• IG - https://www.instagram.com/livinglchaim/

• FB - https://www.facebook.com/livinglchaim

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/living-lchaim

• Website - https://www.livinglchaim.com/

Have a specific question? email us [e-mail]

WhatsApp us feedback and get first access to episodes:

914-222-5513

If you are interested in sponsoring an episode in memory or refuah shilama of a loved one, please send an email to [e-mail]

Lchaim.