Spock may have been half-human and half-Vulcan, but Leonard Nimoy was all Jew. His parents were Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, and they raised him in the Orthodox tradition — and that meant regular visits to his local synagogue in the Boston area. When he was a boy, he had a particularly profound experience during one such visit: At a point in the service when he was supposed to cover his eyes, he peeked out and saw some men performing a prayer that included a hand gesture that is familiar to geeks everywhere as the Vulcan Salute. A few years ago, Nimoy recounted the whole story to the Wexler Oral History project, and it’s well worth a watch. We’re saying a mourner’s kaddish for you, Leonard.
