The benediction Wednesday night for the Democratic National Convention, after former President Bill Clinton’s address, will be delivered by Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, widely viewed as one of the most influential rabbis in the United States. And ABC News notes that Wolpe, an author of seven books and a newspaper column, also has a connection of sorts with Clinton’s presidency.
Wolpe’s temple is also the place where former White House intern Monica Lewinsky attended religious school, and where Lewinsky’s family were members for decades. In the late 1990’s, Wolpe harshly criticized Clinton when he faced impeachment for his affair with Lewinsky.
“He was a brilliant, talented, extraordinary child, and for the leader of the United States we need an adult,” Wolpe told his temple in 1998, adding that Clinton needed to “cleanse his soul.”
