Rabbi Shea Harlig (1965- ) founded Chabad of Southern Nevada in 1990 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Chabad of Southern Nevada is a branch of Chabad-Lubavitch, a worldwide Orthodox Jewish outreach organization. Rabbi Harlig previously lived in Brooklyn, New York, where he was born, raised, educated, and ordained.
Gertrude "Gee Gee" Greenblatt (1915-1981) was a hospitality manager at several Strip hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada. She moved to Las Vegas with her husband in 1953 and worked as a waitress in the showroom of the Sahara Hotel for a year and five months. After leaving the Sahara, Greenblatt held several different positions, including head waitress at the Silver Slipper dining room, hostess at the Westerner Club, and manager of the Sands Hotel coffee shop.
Mike Gordon (1903 - 1992) was born Meyer Harold Gordon. He is one of the founders of Temple Beth Sholom in Las Vegas and served as Temple president from 1949 to 1951.
In 1932, Mike moved to Las Vegas with his wife, Sallie Gordon. They owned and operated liquor and grocery stores. Mike also worked as a postman and later became Clark County Secretary of the Democratic Central Committee and a member of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
Barbara Kaufman (née Raben) was born on August 01, 1941 to Hymen Raben and Harriet Goodman. She married Bernard Kaufman on March 26, 1961. They moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1968. Barbara and Bernard have two children together, Carrie and Andrew Kaufman. Barbara focused herself on raising their children, Carrie and Andrew, and once the children were in their teens, she went to work for her brother as a bookkeeper. Barbara, as of October 27, 2014, is still a bookeeper.
Joni Fried was born November 09, 1955 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her parents, Milton and Esther Fried, owned Freed’s Bakery. She grew up in Paradise Palms and became one of the third-generation owners of her parents’ bakery.
Joni is married to Fred Jones. They have two children: Matthew Scott Eichenfield and Sarah Charlotte O'Briant-Fried.
Millicent Rosen was born January 14, 1931 in New York City. Millicent Rosen's father was the Jewish mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. She married Jack Rosen in 1950 when she was 19 years old and they had three children together: Benjamin, Cindy, and Wendy. Rosen moved to Las Vegas to be with one of her daughters and her family in 2000 and cherished her role as a grandmother. An artist at heart, Rosen painted canvases for needlepoint and promoted her own clothing line in 2015. She passed away November 17, 2017.
Harry Fagel was born May 05, 1968 in Vancouver, Canada, but moved to Las Vegas, Nevada that same year. Fagel graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and started working at his cousin’s restaurant, Piero’s Italian Cuisine, and for Circus Circus Hotel and Casino. Fagel served the Las Vegas community with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for nearly 30 years. He was also a respected poet who wrote for the public and for commission.
Leonard Gang was born in New York in 1935. Leonard graduated New York University School of Law in 1961. He moved to Las Vegas to clerk with the Nevada Supreme Court. Both Len and his wife Bobbie grew up with Jewish traditions in New York and became members of Temple Beth Sholom upon moving to Las Vegas. Len is a Navy veteran, former Deputy District Attorney (1965-1966), District Court Judge, Clark County (1971-1974), accomplished criminal and civil litigator.
Temple Beth Am was a Jewish Reform congregation founded by Rabbi Mel Hecht in 1984 in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1992, some members of the congregation, unhappy with Rabbi Hecht's leadership, broke off to form Congregation Adat Ari El. Construction on Beth Am's campus began in Summerlin in 2001. In 2007 Temple Beth Am and Adat Ari El merged to form Temple Sinai.