June 2026 Book Review

Review of Leah Vincent. Cut Me Loose: Sin and Salvation After My Ultra-Orthodox Girlhood. New York: Penguin Books, 2014.

Rich Robinson

This book, though twelve years old now, just recently came to my attention. Leah Vincent grew up in a Yeshivish family in Brooklyn, left the community, and earned a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard. At a time when outreach to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community is on the hearts and minds of many in Jewish missions, this memoir should be required reading—as should other similar books that have been written.

For those who may not know, the Haredi community is divided between the more familiar Hasidim and the Yeshivish. The Hasidim originated from various towns in Europe after which they are named. Each Hasidic sect has its own leader, the rebbe, who is regarded as a conduit to God and whose blessing is sought. The most famous Hasidic group, of course, is the Lubavitcher Hasidim, also known as Chabad, whose leader Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson died in 1994. Debate has swirled within the community ever since as to whether he is the Messiah and whether he is still alive in some capacity. The Hasidim tend to be mystically minded, whereas in contrast the Yeshivish group is more rationally oriented to the study of traditional Jewish texts, as is done in a yeshiva—hence the name.

Leah Vincent hails from the Yeshivish wing of the Haredim. And if only her life was as smooth as my description above makes it seem. Left the community, went on to Harvard—what a success story!

If only. In reality, this is a raw memoir of rejection by her family, of  pushing boundaries, of looking for love and acceptance in numerous sexual encounters, and of engaging in the practice of cutting for a long time. (Hence the title, alluding both to that and also to coming “loose” from the community.) This is the story of a deeply wounded and vulnerable person.

Eventually Leah met others who were “Off the Derekh,” off the path, who had left the community, and there she found connection. In 2019, Leah came out as non-binary and changed their first name to “Jericho.” They became the founding rabbi of Temple of the Stranger in Brooklyn, New York, teaching the “Ivri Way. Rooted in the love of Goddess and the wisdom of our ancestor Miriam” (www.jerichovincent.com/about). Yes, not all roads out of the Haredi community lead to where we might like them to.

Probably most who leave the community end up secular. Leah’s journey is unique, but everyone must be allowed to tell their own story. Those who are still in the community but considering leaving, or living a “double life”, may be the most open to hearing about Yeshua, presented in a way that makes sense to their life situation. Someone like Leah Vincent who has struck out on her own path is likely not looking for anything else (at the moment).

These stories must be made known to all in Jewish missions who are partnering together to reach the Haredim. (And they are indeed partnering; no one can do this alone.) Whether these accounts are twelve years old or written yesterday, they all form a composite picture of the difficulties, alienations, pain, and struggles of some within the community. Yes, many are happy to continue the Haredi lifestyle and to live out their lives within the community. But fractures have been appearing, and those fractures are widening. This is the time to hear from those who have actually lived in a fractured community—and whose own lives have been fractured as well.