Live Long and Prosper
The Vulcan salute is a hand gesture popularized by the 1960s television series Star Trek. It consists of a raised hand with the palm forward and the thumb extended, while the fingers are parted between the middle and ring finger.
The gesture was devised by Leonard Nimoy, who portrayed the half-Vulcan character Mr. Spock.
In his autobiography "I Am Not Spock", Nimoy wrote that he based it on the Priestly Blessing (Hebrew: ברכת כהנים; translit. birkat kohanim) performed by Jewish Kohanim with both hands, thumb to thumb in this same position, representing the Hebrew letter Shin (ש), which has three upward strokes similar to the position of the thumb and fingers in the salute. The letter Shin here stands for El Shaddai, meaning "Almighty (God)", as well as for Shekinah and Shalom. Nimoy wrote that when he was a child, his grandfather took him to an Orthodox synagogue, where he saw the blessing performed and was impressed by it.
Live Long and Prosper
The Vulcan salute is a hand gesture popularized by the 1960s television series Star Trek. It consists of a raised hand with the palm forward and the thumb extended, while the fingers are parted between the middle and ring finger.
The gesture was devised by Leonard Nimoy, who portrayed the half-Vulcan character Mr. Spock.
In his autobiography "I Am Not Spock", Nimoy wrote that he based it on the Priestly Blessing (Hebrew: ברכת כהנים; translit. birkat kohanim) performed by Jewish Kohanim with both hands, thumb to thumb in this same position, representing the Hebrew letter Shin (ש), which has three upward strokes similar to the position of the thumb and fingers in the salute. The letter Shin here stands for El Shaddai, meaning "Almighty (God)", as well as for Shekinah and Shalom. Nimoy wrote that when he was a child, his grandfather took him to an Orthodox synagogue, where he saw the blessing performed and was impressed by it.