Rabbi Mendy Harlig was born and raised in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. He was ordained as a rabbi in 1996. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1998. Rabbi Mendy Harlig is the spiritual leader of the Chabad of Green Valley, later renamed Chabad of Henderson. He was introduced to the Las Vegas community in 1990 by his brother Rabbi Shea Harlig. Hasidic Judaism has surrounded Mendy since his youth in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. He seemed destined to become a Chabad rabbi.

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.