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For all the STAR TREK fans out there (Scotty boy & co.)... the origin of the Vulcan salute is a symbol of the rock split by God on Mt. Sinai.

Live Long & Prosper, my friends.

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The Jewish Origin of the Vulcan Salute

by Rabbi Yonassan Gershom

(This material is excerpted from Chapter Four of Jewish Themes in Star Trek
by Yonassan Gershom. Copyright 2004 by Yonassan Gershom. All rights reserved.
Posted here with the author's permission.)

...We come now to the most famous Jewish influence on Vulcan culture, the "live long and prosper" hand gesture. This "Vulcan salute, " as it has come to be called, was invented on the set by Leonard Nimoy during the filming of the second-season opener, "Amok Time." In this episode, Spock goes into something like a male estrus cycle, called pon farr in the Vulcan language. Comparing himself to a salmon swimming upstream to spawn, Spock tells Kirk that he must return to Vulcan to mate with his betrothed bride, T'Pring, or die trying. The wedding ceremony would be the first glimpse of Spock's homeworld in the series.

Nimoy felt that there should be some kind of distinctive greeting among Vulcans, analogous to a handshake or a bow. Alan Dean Foster's novelization, based on an early script, has Spock kneeling before the Vulcan matriarch, T'Pau, who places her hands on his shoulders, like royalty dubbing a knight. But Nimoy didn't care for this. Previous episodes had already established that Vulcans are touch telepaths. Therefore, a touch on the shoulders would be an invasion of privacy.
Instead, Nimoy drew upon his own Jewish background to suggest the now-familiar salute. Back in the 1960s, hippies who watched "Amok Time" thought the salute was a variation of the two-fingered peace sign. But we Jews knew better. The Vulcan salute came not from protest marches, but from the pulpit of Nimoy's childhood synagogue.

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.

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.

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.

Did Gene Roddenberry know, at the time of filming, that the Vulcan salute was based on a Jewish ritual? That question remains unanswered. My sense is that he probably didn't, or he would have objected to it, on the grounds of its being too " Judeo-Christian." More likely, he thought it was a weird variation of the peace sign. Certainly, that's how gentile Trekkers saw it for many years. Only much later did Nimoy publicly explain the source of his inspiration.

We should also note that the prohibition against peeking only applies during the actual blessing ritual. The gesture itself is nothing secret. You can see it openly displayed in books and on amulets, jewelry, wall decorations, and gravestones. Contrary to urban legend, Nimoy was not violating any Jewish taboos by using this gesture on Star Trek, especially since he modified it from the original version. I, for one, think it's absolutely wonderful that something so authentically Jewish has become universally recognized as a greeting of peace. More than anything else in Trekdom, the Vulcan salute says to me, "Here there be Jews." It also provides a diplomatic way for me to greet female Trekkers at conventions without shaking hands. (Orthodox Jews do not shake hands with the opposite sex. I suppose that would also hold true for intersexed alien species.)

On the practical end, the ability to make the salute is a bit tricky. Some say
it's hereditary, like double-jointedness. (I myself can do it easily.)
According to Nimoy's own account, He spent hours practicing it after he saw it
in the synagogue. When the time came to use the Vulcan salute on the studio set,
there it was, perfectly executed without a hitch. But actress Celia Lovsky, who
played T'Pau, had difficulty making the sign. She had to set her fingers in
place first, before the cameras rolled, and could only hold it briefly. In
later episodes and movies, the irascible Doctor McCoy makes numerous wisecracks
about "breaking his fingers" trying give the Vulcan greeting.

In addition to the salute itself, the ceremonial use of "Live long and prosper"

and it's lesser-known reply, "Peace and long life," also show a strong Jewish influence. The format is similar to a traditional greeting in Hebrew:
"Shalom aleichem" (peace be upon you) and the answer, "Aleichem shalom" (upon you be peace.) Muslims have a similar greeting in Arabic. Once again, we can see a strong parallel between Vulcan and Middle Eastern cultures. In the next
chapter, we will further explore how Orthodox Judaism was used by Nimoy as the template for developing his vision of Vulcan society...

(excepted from the work-in-progress, Jewish Themes in Star Trek by Rabbi Yonassan Gershom. (c) Copyright 2004 by Yonassan Gershom. All rights reserved.) Visit Trekjews.com for more info...

Additional notes: Although Leonard Nimoy drew a lot of his inspiration for the Vulcan culture from Judaism, he is not himself an Orthodox Jew. His grandfather was Orthodox and took him to the synagogue when he was young. Little Leonard was impressed by the ritual, and today he has a strong connection with his Jewish identity.
He has done a lot of Jewish theater projects and narrated several Jewish educational music programs and and video documentaries. However, his own lifestyle is not Orthodox, even though quite a few Star Trek sites mis-identify him as such. The Leonard Nimoy page on the free encyclopedia site, wikipedia.org,
says that he is "an adherant of Reform Judaism."

INCREDIBLE!

TN Dove, wonderful pictures. So many of us I know have wanted to be able to travel and see the places of history that we read about in the bible. We are held back many times by lack of finances or time. With these sights we are held back by islamic arabs who have closed these places off to Christians and Jews. Like the story of the troll under the bridge they seek to control or close access to the places where God's presence visited the earth.

I think that after Jesus comes at the end of Armaggedon and cleanses the earth He may give us all a tour of these. Won't that be great?

Also, TN DOVE, check out the video I posted for you on the "Celebrities" thread.

This is FASCINATING - I had seen something about this a few years ago probably on the History Channel about the rock being split and proof of water gushing from it, glad to see it again and that others will see it. More proof of the Bible's truth for us to SEE!

It was also interesting about Leonard Nimoy and the vulcan sign and where it originated - I can do it easily with my left hand, but no way with my right hand. Fun to read - Thanks TN!

I can't thank you enough TN Dove for getting this amazing information about the real location of Mt. Sinai in Saudi Arabia and not the Sinai Penensula!!!

This is where all the evedence is located in the book of Exodus about where the children of Israel camped at the foot of the real Mount Sanai(which has the burnt mountaintop).

Nobody can refute all the pictures and scriptural evidence which is presented here by your photos and all the many others out there!!!

TN Dove I have a dvd called Mountain of Fire and it is full of this evidence from this real site!!

TN Dove can you briefly tell me what to click when I go to google earth for this place over in Saudi Arabia!!

I know the exact location I just have never used google earth to locate it so that I can zoom into this amazing area!!

Please list just the few clickable things I need to click when I get to google earth if you can please!!

THANK YOU! TN Dove,



Blessings,
W.C.

CORRECTION: God split the rock in HOREB, not Mt. Sinai. DOH!

You can go there NOW with Google Earth. It's EASY. Just download the free software:

http://earth.google.com/

Then, copy & paste these coordinates where it says Fly To & the Search magnifying glass so you can see for yourself (with photos posted from the area):

Location of Column #1 placed by King Solomon to commemorate Red Sea crossing:
29° 3' 21.13" N 34° 40' 8.67" E



Chariots in the Red Sea (what I found interesting about this one is the location of these chariots is listed directly in the CENTER of the Red Sea - not near the shore as some movies have depicted):
29° 2' 30.35" N 34° 46' 33.05" E











Location of Column #2 placed by King Solomon to commemorate Red Sea crossing on the other side (now removed by the Saudis):
29° 1' 47.87" N 34° 51' 5.04" E





Split Rock in Horeb (Exodus 19):





Mount Sinai:



Rocks from Golden Calf Altar:
28 34' 52.78" N 35 23' 46.06" E





A dozen giant boulders are stacked in the encampment area and reveal 12 ancient Egyptian petroglyphs of bulls. It is believed the golden calf was placed upon these rocks. Large altars are found on the east and west sides of the mountain.



Petroglyphs of cows on the rocks







Guard house & fence preventing visitors to Mt. Sinai:
28 35' 12.50" N 35 23' 08.36" E

Moses' Altar (with pens for animals):
28 35' 4.82" N 35 22' 43.28" E





At base of Mt. Sinai with a broken column (one of 12):



Top of Mount Sinai (note the burned rocks):
28 35' 4.31" N 35 21' 3.04" E



Tree between two boulders on Sinai... could this be the burning bush?





More from the Real Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia

Discovered by Ron Wyatt. I met Ron in 1988. He was from Nashville.

One more for MELANIE...

Shiloh, Israel :

32 03'15.87" N, 35 17'56.73" E

OK, one more...

The Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Israel:
31°46'38.97"N, 35°14'8.88"E

Megiddo, Israel (where the battle of Armageddon will take place):

32°34'40.43"N, 35°10'47.88"E

Great work TN Dove!! You are a true soldier of the RITA salvation armed forces!!!

Recieve your bronze eagle and step up to the buffet bar!!!

Scott.

I'm having a moment here. Just remembered that old hymn "He Hideth My Soul". I'll bet Fanny Crosby had no idea what the rock @ Horeb or on Sinai looked like when she wrote it.

Just listen to these words & think about Horeb & Mount Sinai (especially the last verse... Fanny writing about the rapture):



1. A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
A wonderful Savior to me;
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
Where rivers of pleasure I see.

* Refrain:
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life in the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.

2. A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
He taketh my burden away,
He holdeth me up and I shall not be moved,
He giveth me strength as my day.

3. With numberless blessings each moment He crowns,
And filled with His fullness divine,
I sing in my rapture, oh, glory to God!
For such a Redeemer as mine.

4. When clothed with His brightness transported I rise
To meet Him in clouds of the sky,
His perfect salvation, His wonderful love,
I’ll shout with the millions on high.





"And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen." - Exodus 33:22-23

"O my dove, that are in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see your countenance, let me hear your voice; for sweet is your voice, and your countenance is comely." - Song of Solomon 2:14

I wonder what this means for those expecting the glory to pass by again down here... maybe we'll get our new bodies first. Hmmm.

So many thoughts. I'm speechless. Our God is truly amazing.

Very informative, TN...

Thanks for posting good brother.


Joseph

bttt

bttt

This is the post Scott & Texas Sue were referencing.

I recommend checking out the Google Earth application, & punching in the various coordinates I've listed above. There's nothing like watching the satellite zoom in from space on the exact locations for these biblical events!

Here's the link again to get you started:

You can go there NOW with Google Earth. It's EASY. Just download the free software:

http://earth.google.com/

Then, copy & paste these coordinates where it says Fly To & the Search magnifying glass so you can see for yourself (with photos posted from the area):

Location of Column #1 placed by King Solomon to commemorate Red Sea crossing:
29° 3' 21.13" N 34° 40' 8.67" E

It really did take my breath away the first time.

I should mention that most all of these discoveries were made by Ron Wyatt. You can also visit his Wyatt Museum Site Here.

This site that Tom posted on another thread is also great! Good interviews with Ron, & great footage.

Click on the following to view an 18 minute movie of the real mt Sinai. This site has many discoveries and is a great resource for Biblical archeology.

I watched the entire video series on this some time ago, It was absolutely AMAZING!

I think I cried when I watched the family sitting on the top of the charred mountain, the very place where Yahveh met with Moses.
I could only image what it would be like to stand in the same place God Himself stood!
And it is still black/charred from His visitation.
Wonderful discovery!

Oh the pictures and music was so great, thanks for bringing these here, I really enjoyed all of it almost like a night out.

Email: newskinagain167@yahoo.com

The hand sign of live long and prosper.
Is also done at Jewish weddings.By the priest.
Praise the Lord,
Star

Incredible pictures! My brother was stationed in the Sinai at a UN base there in the mid 90's. He and a chaplain friend of his climbed to the top of the real Mt Sinai and camped overnight. He sent pictures, and even post cards. There is a chaple or something at the top, and the real burning bush. He said that it is a tree, not a bush, and is dated to thousands of years old and there is not one other tree like it anywhere else in the world. It was a real spiritual experience for him. Don't think he mentioned the split rock at the bottom though. I had the postcard of the burning bush, and don't know where right now, but I have it somewhere!

Email: dennettefarr@verizon.net

Wow, NICE, Dennette!

Yes, you can see the bush (tree) in the cleft of the rock at the top of Mt. Sinai, but I've never seen it up close. Do scan & post it if you can find it.

The split rock is from Horeb, not the same location.

I'll try really hard to find it. Probably in with all the stuff my kids have made me over the years, I've saved about all of it!

Email: dennettefarr@verizon.net

As I first started down this thread I was look
ing to see if credit would be given to Ron Wyatt who
set out to climb this set of ridges years ago and was
busted by the Saudi's until he showed them the pillar on the Saudi shore where Israel came ashore, then they released him and his boys and later he took tours over to the site. I watched his " Presentation of Discoveries," and still have a copy of it, somewhere.

He was maligned by many, ignored by others who took
his info and then side stepped him and produces their
own " Original discoveries," never giving any credit
to the man who got onto it, went to jail over it, and
then just kept going in spite of the treatment.

Blessing folks,

Dewey

Email: jmcdudes@hotmail.com

You are exactly correct, Dewey. I'm so glad others know the true story of how badly Ron was mistreated toward the end of his life. He ended up suffering with cancer for quite a while. It was during this time that others started trying to discredit him for their own gain.

Jealousy can be a really ugly thing.

When I met Ron in the ‘80s, he struck me as one of the most humble men I've ever run across. I could see why God would reveal so much to such a man.



Here is Ron talking about Jesus' blood on the Ark of the Covenant when he found it:

bttt

bttt

Website: www.pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/Come_Up_Here.html

The lady named Penny wrote a book called "The God of the Mountain" Amazon I think....it's a great book tells you all about their trip....

Email: yaddyyaddi@yahoo.com

Thanks TN Dove!

Wonderful Video which supported Mr Ron's research.

The Rock could represent Jesus' hearT smitten for us...or a well of water within our HEARt ???

John:4:14: "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

Fyi this post is partly linked to my earlier post "TEN or TWO Commandments"

http://www.simplesite.com/7churches

Email: mikettc2002@yahoo.com.sg

Website: www.simplesite.com/7churches

The most amazing thing about this Mt Sinai in Saudi Arabia is that it is not only where God gave the Law to Moses as His Kehtuva (book of promises given to bride) to His wife Israel, but is also the place where the apostle Paul received the revelation from Jesus Christ for His bride, the Church, concerning a new and better covenant which was by grace through faith and foretold of by the Prophet Jeremiah in Chapter 31.


Galatians 1:11-17.

I believe that Paul received the revelation of the new Covenant of Faith from Jesus Christ on the very mt. top as Moses received the law. And, Paul probably stayed in the same cave that is near the top of that mountain.

Really amazing.

Tom

Email: tparbar@gmail.com

WOW TOM!
I never know that Paul was in Arabia.
Thanks for this Truth!
Now I understand! We can really learn alot from RITA's great posts which are so informative and awesome!

Email: mikettc2002@yahoo.com.sg

Website: www.simplesite.com/7churches

Thanks for the reminder, Tom. I had forgotten this about Paul & the new covenant.