Leonard Nimoy explains the Jewish origins of Spock’s Vulcan hand gesture greeting.
In the Jewish Journal, Tom Tugend writes on “Nimoy Unalienated“. Some excerpts:
His early psychological bent became irreversible – as did his decision to become an actor — when as a I7- year old he landed his first real stage role as the teenage son Ralphie in Clifford Odets’s Awake and Sing.
The play dramatized the struggles of a Jewish family, the Bergers, in the depth of the 1930s Depression.
“That was an amazing event,” Nimoy exclaims. “That characters could talk about Jewish concerns on an American stage made me feel validated as a person and as a Jew…
One thing Nimoy appreciated about Hollywood was the pervasive Jewish influence in the film industry, which dampened any blatant expressions of anti-Semitism…
Though not a particularly religious man, Nimoy feels that “everything I do is informed by my Judaism. A lot of what I’ve put into Spock came to me through my Jewish orientation.”
Meanwhile, in Tablet, Moshe Rosenberg discusses “Five Reasons Spock Was the Quintessential Jew“. The bullet points discussed in the piece are:
- He was an outsider looking in.
- He struggled to balance intellect and emotion.
- He exemplified the sacrifice of personal fulfillment for duty.
- His role spanned generations.
- His awkwardness became his source of humor.
