M&D pp485 spoiler. (fwd)

[davemarc]

Double spoiler, if you haven't read up to pp. 66-69 in Leonard Nimoy's *I
Am Spock* (the sequel to *I Am Not Spock*).

"For what would soon become known as the Vulcan salute, I borrowed a hand
symbol from Orthodox Judaism.  During the High Holiday services, the
*Kohanim* (who are the priests) bless those in attendance.  As they do,
they extend the palms of both hands over the congregation, with thumbs
outstretched and the middle and ring fingers parted so that each hand forms
two vees.  This gesture symbolizes the Hebrew letter *shin*, hte first
letter in the word *Shaddai*, 'Lord'; in the Jewish *Qabala*, *shin* also
represents eternal Spirit.

"The ritual made an extraordinary impression on me when, as a young boy, I
attended those services with my family in an orthodox synagogue.  The women
sat separately in the balcony, and I sat near the front with my father,
grandfather, and older brother, Melvin.  The special moment when the
*Kohanim* blessed the assembly moved me deeply, for it possessed a great
sense of magic and theatricality.  In Hebrew, they would chant:

"'May the Lord bless you and keep you.  May the Lord turn His face upon
you, and give you peace...'

"In approximate unison, their voices rose and fellin loud, piercing
shouts--fervent, impassioned, ecstatic.

"'Don't look,' my father whispered.  'Close your eyes.  You mustn't look.'

"Being a child, I of course asked, 'Why?'

"'Because this is the moment that the *Shekhinah*--the holy essence of
God--enters the sanctuary.'

"I had heard that this indwelling Spirit of God was too powerful, too
beautiful, too awesome for any mortal to look upon and survive, and so I
obediently covered my face with my hands.

"But of course, I had to peek.

"And I saw the priests enrapt in religious ecstasy, their heads and faces
hidden by their shawls, spreading their arms over the congregation.  As
they invoked the essence of God, their hands were fixed in representations
of the letter *shin*.

"So it was that, when I searched my imagination for an appropriate gesture
to represent the peace-loving Vulcans, the *Kohanim*'s symbol of blessing
came to mind."

Cohanim=Cohen here.  

And "Live Long and Prosper" apparently came from Ted Sturgeon.  ("Are these
the words of a Sturgeon?")

davemarc