MDDM Ch. 50 Live Long and Prosper

Joe Allonby joeallonby at gmail.com
Tue Jun 27 21:38:15 CDT 2006


Isn't there another Star Trek reference in a bar scene along with a tattoed
muscular sailor who declares "I am what I am?"

Why do all of my posts somehow involve events in bars?

On 6/24/06, Dave Monroe <monropolitan at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> "... 'tis Dixon's luck to discover The Rabbi of
> Prague,
> headquarters of a Kabbalistick Faith, in
> correspondence with the Elect Cohens of Paris, whose
> private Salute they now greet Dixon with, the Fingers
> spread two and two, and the Thumb held away from them
> likewise, said to represent the Hebrew letter Shin and
> to signify, 'live long and prosper.'" (M&D, Ch. 50, p.
> 485)
>
> ... We come now to the most famous Jewish influence on
> Vulcan culture, the "live long and prosper" hand
> gesture....
>
> [...]
>
> The Vulcan greeting is based upon a blessing gesture
> used by the kohanim (koe-hah-NEEM) during the worship
> service. The kohanim are the genealogical descendants
> of the Jewish priests who served in the Jerusalem
> Temple. Modern Jews no longer have priests leading
> services as in ancient times, nor do we have animal
> sacrifices anymore. (Yes, people really do ask about
> that!) The sacrificial system ended with the
> destruction of the Temple by the Romans in the year
> 70. C.E. However, a remnant of the Temple service
> lives on in the "kohane blessing" ritual (duchenen in
> Yiddish) that is performed on certain holy days.
>
> [Hebrew letter SHIN] [hand and SHIN letter] The actual
> blessing is done with both arms held horizontally in
> front, at shoulder level, with hands touching, to form
> the Hebrew letter "shin." This stands for the Hebrew
> word for "Shaddai", meaning "Almighty [God]." Nimoy
> modified this gesture into one hand held upright,
> making it more like a salute. So, technically, the
> Vulcan greeting is not the same thing as the
> ceremonial Jewish blessing. Still, the resemblance is
> close enough to evoke instant recognition among
> knowledgeable Jews.
>
> During the synagogue service, the worshippers are not
> supposed to look at the kohanim while the blessing is
> being given. The reason for this is to focus our
> attention on the words of the prayer itself, rather
> than on the personalities of the kohanim. The kohanim
> are merely the channels, not the source, of the
> blessing, which comes from God. Unfortunately, all
> sorts of silly superstitions have arisen about this
> ritual, such as "Don't look at the kohanim, or you'll
> go blind!" and other nonsense. The real reason is
> simply to focus on receiving blessings directly from
> God, not from human beings.
>
> [position of the hands for the blessing] Like most
> Jewish children, young Leonard Nimoy could not contain
> his curiosity about what the kohanim were really doing
> up there in front of the congregation. He writes:
>
> "The special moment when the Kohanim blessed the
> assembly moved me deeply, for it possessed a great
> sense of magic and theatricality... 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." (From his
> autobiography, I am Spock.)
>
> Leonard survived his peeking unscathed, and saw the
> kohanim extending their fingers in the mystical "shin"
> gesture. That magical moment remained with him for
> life, and was there to draw upon years later, when he
> invented the Vulcan salute.
>
> http://www.pinenet.com/rooster/v-salute.html
>
> Welcome to Trekjews.com --
> Your source for Jewish themes in Star Trek
>
> http://www.pinenet.com/rooster/trekjews.html
>
> And see as well, e.g., ...
>
> http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0205
>
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