deaths, and I don't believe God
meant for either one of them tf
happen. I'm doing two concert's
with the San Francisco Gay
Men's Chorus, which [reminds
me] of another thing about
being Jewish. It's not about
putting people down for what
they do in their private lives as
find with other religions.
SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News
A
lthough Nell Carter
has met success
through the
Broadway stage, series
television, feature films, record-
ings and concerts, her conver-
sion to Judaism and the expres-
sion of her spirituality take pri-
ority in her life.
Carter, best known for her
Tony Award-winning role in the
Fats Waller musical Aint
Misbehavin'and her portrayal of
Nellie Harper on TV's Gimme a
Break, will talk about her reli-
gious beliefs and how they affect
her family at the next session of
the Temple Israel Speakers'
Forum scheduled Sunday, May 2.
The outspoken entertainer, 50,
lives in Beverly Hills with two
adopted 9-year-old sons and
makes sure they have a strong
religious education. One of them,
she hopes out loud with tongue
in cheek, will be the first black
Jewish Republican president.
Carter, who can be heard on
the CD To Life! Chanukah and
Other Jewish Celebrations, wants
to save in-depth religious corn-
ments for her Michigan visit,
but she did share some of her
outlook and practices with The
Detroit Jewish News.
On her upcoming presentation:
I'm coming at it from the
point of view of conversion —
not in a critical way, but speak-
ing of the hypocrisy [working]
against conversion in some
places. There are lots of Jews
who don't accept it.
On her motivation for
conversion:
I didn't want to go to church
because I don't believe it. There
was something inside me as
long as I can remember.
On ritual:
I feel in any religion a person
should be able to practice what he or
she believes and not what the parents
believe. You bring your child up sur-
rounded by beliefs and try to show
them the good and the bad, but the
child has a choice.
On Israel:
I believe in Israel, and I'll be going
4/30
1999
94 Detroit Jewish News
On spiritual environment:
[Israeli performer] Ofra Haz:
is my favorite singer, and you
can hear her music playing
around the house.
On what makes her day:
The thing that makes me hap
piest, and brings me tears, is
when I don't know my childrei
are going to be called up to the
bimah and they go up there and
read perfectly and know just wh
to do. I know exactly the date
that their bar mitzvahs are going
to be. I went to my rabbi's son's
bar mitzvah and sat in the front
row so I could see everything.
On her children's religious oui
look, with humor:
One of my sons told me he
wants to be a rabbi, and that's
not what I had planned for hin
I said, "Did you know you're
going to be in rabbinical schoo
for a long time?" He said, "OK
I like it." I said, "You know yc
won't have time to date?" He `\
said, "Yeah." I said, "You knol,
you're going to have to stay
kosher." He said, "That's OK.
I said, "You know you put a lo
of pressure on me if you becon
a rabbi?" — and I think he'd d
it so I would have to know
everything as a rabbi's mom. It
hard enough getting ready for<
the bar mitzvah that's in 2002!
Nell Carter:
"You have to
keep learning."
Entertainer Nell Carter gives Th Jewish ZVe
a preview o her upcomingr visit to item !sr
to New York to get an award from a
Zionist association. I studied there
and met Abba Eban. It was wonderful.
On getting through aneurysm
surgery:
My grandmother used to have a
saying, "Let go and let God," and I
know that is true. I remember asking
for a Hebrew prayer book and Bible
[before the operation] and was told I
went into [surgery] singing [Hebrew
songs]. They said I was very funny in
the operating room and made it very
clear that they could cut while I was
alive but couldn't touch my body if it
was over. They had to call my rabbi.
On special causes:
I work with anything that has to do
with AIDS or battered children
because they're both unnecessary
On commitment:
One good thing about being
Jewish is you have to keep lear
ing. You can't become compla-
cent. I'm a better mother and
human being because of it. II
Nell Carter will speak at Temple
Israel 4 p.m. Sunday, May 2.
General admission tickets are
$25/$15 students with ID, and
will be available at the door.
(248) 661-5700.