Jewish Mr. Spock?

The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Numbers 6: 24-26

 Were you aware that Mr. Spock, the Vulcan/human officer on the Starship Enterprise was Jewish? Well, Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played Spock in the series and in films grew up Jewish. Nimoy was the child of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants in Boston where he went to synagogue and witnessed elders using what became his trademark Spock greeting as a symbol of blessing accompanying the verses from Numbers. 

In an interview Nimoy observed:  

'Spock is an alien, wherever he is. Because he's not human. He's not Vulcan. He's half and half — what we used to call a half-breed. ... He's not totally accepted in the Vulcan culture because he's not totally Vulcan. Certainly not totally accepted in the human culture because he's part Vulcan. And that alienation was something I learned in Boston. I knew what it meant to be a member of a minority — and in some cases, an outcast minority. So I understood that aspect of the character, and I think it was helpful in playing him.

In some respects Nimoy was Jew-ish, as one comedian described himself,. His son Adam, now 70, describes himself as a more observant Jew than his late father was. Still, Leonard was a benefactor of Jewish causes including the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, a childhood center at Temple Israel of Hollywood and the Susan and Leonard Nimoy Career Center at Beit T’Shuvah, a Jewish recovery house in Los Angeles.

It pleased Leonard that the gesture became so popular amongst Trekkies and non-Trekkies and was always willing to explain its origins. 

Live long and prosper!