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.