Rabbi Deborah Megdal is the Associate Rabbi of Congregation Beth El in Bethesda, Maryland. She was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she also earned a master’s degree in Talmud and Rabbinics, a Certificate in Applied Halakhah, and academic prizes in Talmud and Jewish Law. Rabbi Megdal previously served Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York City, the largest LGBTQ synagogue in the world, and completed a chaplaincy rotation at MJHS Hospice. In her first career, she earned her J.D. at Yale Law School, clerked for a federal judge, and worked in commercial litigation and international arbitration at a Manhattan law firm.