 In November 2013, amid clashes with the education authorities, most members of the group left for Ontario, again claiming religious persecution.On July 7, 2017, Helbrans drowned while performing a ritual immersion in a river in Mexico at the age of 54.A native of Jerusalem′s Kiryat HaYovel neighborhood, Helbrans was born as Erez Shlomo Elbarnes to Pinhas and Yocheved Elbarnes, secular Jews.