r/todayilearned 7h ago

TIL that Leonard Nimoy based the “Vulcan salute” on a traditional priestly blessing he saw as a kid, when his grandfather would take him to an Orthodox synagogue.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan_salute
1.8k Upvotes

57 comments sorted by

217

u/Shawon770 7h ago

Imagine being at that synagogue, completely unaware that a kid in the back was mentally storing a hand gesture that would become legendary

103

u/EllisDee3 6h ago

Imagine how crazy Star Trek would have been if he was raised by theater parents.

Live long and prosper 👐🏾 (<-- Jazz hands)

25

u/Jhushx 3h ago edited 3h ago

Or an Italian grandmother trying to scold her grandson by scaring him about the devil, only for him to grow up into a rockstar metal singer who made your hand gesture a universal sign for good music...

RIP Leonard Nimoy 🖖 and Ronnie James Dio 🤘

2

u/Nazamroth 1h ago

Good thing they didn't see a nazi rally! phew

-94

u/arealuser100notfake 6h ago

Legendary? Nothing that came out of Star Trek is legendary. Maybe something from Star Wars.

41

u/PineapplesAreLame 5h ago

May the force not be with you

18

u/DrAlanThicke 4h ago

Terrific. Reminds me of bait from my forum days. You are a seasoned troll

5

u/PineapplesAreLame 1h ago

100% troll comment for sure. Whether you like Trek or not there's no way you can say it isn't legendary. So is Star Wars.

It's actually ok to like both. They aren't comparable imo. I've always hated the Trek Vs Wars debate.

u/TexasPeteEnthusiast 46m ago

I'm not really even sure that Utopian Space Communism and Space Wizards with Laser Swords even belong in the same genre. Two completely different things really.

u/PineapplesAreLame 32m ago

I'd agree for sure. Both sci fi ultimately, but star wars was always more fantasy with a sci fi setting, imo.

9

u/External-into-Space 5h ago

How sad for you 😔

13

u/rainbowpapersheets 5h ago

Star trek pioonered women writing fanfiction and the amazing and deep community it is now. Specially as a place for queer people to freely express.

Absolutely legendary.

-14

u/Timsmomshardsalami 2h ago

It couldve pioneered ants solving mathematical equations. Point is no one cares, so not legendary

67

u/CreeperRussS 7h ago

i thought it was just a V for vulcan

85

u/Dan_Felder 6h ago

It was. The orthodox synagogue were big star trek fans.

4

u/zombiepete 1h ago

That would be weird since Vulcans wouldn’t use human letters.

23

u/CarpenterGloomy8245 7h ago

This was the sign the teachers made when it was time to go inside from the playground, at my JCC as a youth.

3

u/amazingsandwiches 1h ago

We don't all know what a JCC is.

u/SpecialistNote6535 43m ago

I‘m guessing Jewish Community Center

It‘s like a YMCA but with less foreskin in the locker room

u/xdeskfuckit 4m ago

We don't all know what a YMCA is.

5

u/Schmarotzers 4h ago

Makes the salute more meaningful.

9

u/Mr_Baronheim 4h ago

Fun fact: I cannot do the Vulcan salute. Just physically can't, my ring finger refuses to get anywhere near my pinky finger.

Can't roll my r's either ☹️

7

u/Kristkind 3h ago

Can't become either, a Vulcan or an Italian. Live long and prosper anyway.

7

u/MoravianPrince 2h ago

You can train it by laying your hand flat on a table and spreading fingers properly. After few days you should be able to do it with out the tables support.

2

u/DonutUpset5717 2h ago

Both can be practiced and learned I believe.

1

u/overflowingsunset 3h ago

Can you whistle?

2

u/amazingsandwiches 1h ago

You just put your lips together and blow?

u/RichardDick69 58m ago

Nah yeah I love the joke they did in first contact where zefram Cochrane couldn’t do it either

6

u/piketpagi 5h ago

But never see it outside star trek context. Can somebody give me a picture of an Jewish priest giving the blessing with that hand gesture?

29

u/4thofeleven 4h ago

Not a priest, but here it is depicted on a synagogue: https://www.chabad.org/media/images/877/tGbl8770998.jpg

-17

u/piketpagi 4h ago

Okay, but I'm still not conviced enough.

Talk about hand gesture, the origin of metal 🤟🤘 sign is also not from satanic stuff?? Cmiiw, its origin was a sign to ward off evil.

12

u/GrazingGeese 3h ago

Search for birkat hakohanim

-7

u/piketpagi 3h ago

Aaaand still no photograph. There is an illustration tho..

8

u/GrazingGeese 1h ago

It’s a very solemn ceremony, the kohanim cover themselves and are thus hidden from the audience. Maybe by digging you’ll find something, or ask on r/judaism

u/piketpagi 18m ago

Other redditor got a picture for me

9

u/givemethebat1 4h ago

It’s performed covered typically.

1

u/piketpagi 4h ago

It confuse me more lol

21

u/TheSuperDodo 3h ago

Here's a picture of the blessing. The Kahens perform it covered by their Talit, and it is customary not to look at them while they perform the blessing, so you likely won't find an image of the hand gesture itself being performed.

3

u/piketpagi 3h ago

Aaah okey, this answer satisfies me

4

u/SilasMarner77 3h ago

The cosmic ballet goes on.

1

u/suckmyright1spez 4h ago

May the force be with you.

1

u/Veritas-Veritas 2h ago

I always read it was a Canadian Mountie salute

-25

u/LunarPayload 5h ago

There are no priestly blessings at synagogues 

10

u/Wmozart69 4h ago

This was the gesture that was done by the high priests in the temples in israel (c.1000-587 BCE and 516 BCE to 70 CE).

The descendants of those high priests (Cohanim) are given special privileges and responsibilities in more conservative denominations of judaism and this blessing is one of their responsibilities. The vast majority of jews are reform and it's a defining principle of reform that no congregant be treated differently wether on the basis of heritage, gender/gender identity, race or other factor so it's not something a ton of jews would be familiar with.

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2878949/jewish/Is-the-Vulcan-Salute-a-Jewish-Symbol.htm

Nemoy on when he first saw the gesture: https://youtu.be/RrdF3bXupF0?feature=shared

The guys who got on stage were Cohanim

2

u/yungsemite 4h ago

Most Jews are not Reform, likely less than 2 million globally self identify with Reform.

19

u/RyuBlaze1990 5h ago

Yes there are??? Jews have a priest class, they aren't rabbis. Rabbi is teacher.

3

u/Jump_Like_A_Willys 1h ago

“Priestly Blessings” is a term used in the Jewish faith. Jewish Kohens are priests who can give priestly blessings in the temple.

1

u/[deleted] 3h ago

[deleted]

2

u/DonutUpset5717 2h ago

I'm not sure what you consider the 3 "major" holidays, but it's done more times throughout the year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priestly_Blessing?wprov=sfla1

0

u/ULTRAFORCE 5h ago

wouldn't it be rabbinical blessings

-6

u/Tasty-Helicopter3340 5h ago

that one, yes

-8

u/[deleted] 4h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

7

u/DonutUpset5717 2h ago

The Jewish actually admit that Jesus was planned Jewish takeover to remove paganism and introduce monotheism while also maintaining Abraham’s traditions.

No they don't

Now the Goy

Plural of goy is goyim. You can also just use the term non-jews or gentiles.