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West Bloomfield, MI 48323
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During that time of confusion she
relied on the words of her grand-
mother to begin the search that ulti-
mately led her to convert to Judaism.
"She told me that as long as I
believed in a higher power, I would
be fine.
That advice led her 27 years later
to the religion of her grandfather.
The 50-year-old black actress,
best known for her Tony Award-win-
ning role in the musical Ain't
Misbehavin' and in the TV sitcom
Gimme a Break, often blends humor
with her serious commitment to
Judaism.
She held back tears as she reflected
on the pride of watching her two 9-
year - old sons pray perfectly in
Hebrew on the bima of their Beverly
Hills, Calif., temple.
"My son Joshua wants to be a
rabbi," she reflected. And then, with
a smirk and a twinkle in her eye she
added, "So let's see, one of my sons is
going to be the first black ... Jewish
... Republican ... president of the
United States."
But amidst her humor is an under-
tone of anger, an anger for those in
the Jewish community who, she
claims, are unable to accept Jewish
converts as "real Jews."
"Back in '88 when I heard a rabbi
in France announce to the world they
would not accept converts, I was
angry," she said with a stern look.
And then her gaze softened as she
retorted with a smile, "What do they
think, you join Judaism to get a bet-
ter job? What black fool would join
to be persecuted?"
And so she lectures endlessly on
the role of the convert in Jewish her-
itage.
"Judaism has always welcomed
converts," she told the audience of
nearly 400 who had packed the lec-
ture hall for Temple Israel's Speakers
Forum event.
"Sara and Jacob were converts.
One out of every 37 American Jews is
a Jew by choice. Ruth adopted
Judaism," she said. "The entire fami-
ly of Israelites became Jews by choice
when they made the covenant with
God at Mt. Sinai."
And to those who would suggest
that hers is not the face or the skin
color of a Jewish person, she retorts,
"Just go to Israel. Look at the faces
there. They are every color, every
race.
Carter has been to Israel several
times. While praying at the Western
Wall in Jerusalem for the first time,
she found reassurance that her faith
"
in Judaism was not misdirected.
"The most beautiful thing at the
Kotel, at the Wall, was to see all the
religious people together. This is
where I felt happy. This is where I
felt free."
But her indoctrination into
Judaism did have its downside. "I had
a near-drowning experience in the
mikva," she told her audience in a
story that brought them to tears of
laughter.
"I was wondering if this was one
of God's tests for me," she remem-
bered. "They told me to take my
arms off the wall and I kept rolling,
face down, into the water, like a little
ball. They kept telling me the conver-
sion process was a thing of beauty.
But I kept thinking, 'Beauty? All
they're seeing is my behind."
It was on her way into surgery for
a double aneurysm that Carter's com-
mitment to her new religion was ulti-
mately tested.
"Before surgery, they said I proba-
bly wouldn't come out. I asked for a
Hebrew prayer book. And I was sud-
denly at peace when I read the words
of the 23rd Psalm. 'Yea, though I
walk through the shadow of the val-
ley of death I will fear no evil for
God is with me.'
"I went into the operating room,"
she recounted, and while I don't
remember any of this, they told me
later I kept singing Jewish songs. And
apparently I told the doctor he could
cut me while I was alive, but if it was
over, I wanted a rabbi."
Said 20-year-old Julie Kaplan,
who remembered watching Carter's
TV show as a child, "It's inspiring
she has such a strong faith in
Judaism."
You learn from her that, for
some, it's a challenge to be a Jew,"
said Temple Israel congregant Sandy
Stark. "It just shows you that you can
be successful as long as you believe."
But Carter also reached those in
the audience still looking for spiritual
direction.
"What suggestion do you have for
a person currently looking at Judaism
as an answer to that inner peace you
have described?". asked Tracey
Bradley, 31, of Royal Oak, who was
one of the handful of blacks in the
audience.
"I suggest going to a rabbi who
will try to dissuade you," said Carter.
"It must be your decision, one that
comes from inside you.
"When it makes you so happy you
want to cry, and it has nothing to do
with a man, then do it." LI
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