Who invented the Vulcan salute?

We get to the origins of the Vulcan salute, which is one of the first things that come to mind when talking about Star Trek. In fact, it was Leonard Nimoy who created this greeting and brought it to the character in the series. 

By David Foster Published on 15 Şubat 2024 : 23:31.
Who invented the Vulcan salute?

Nimoy said that he was inspired by the hand gesture used by rabbis in Hebrew blessings and that he suited it to the character of Mr. Spock.

Nimoy, who had a long career as an actor, director, and photographer after starring in the 'Star Trek' TV series between 1966 and 1969, is remembered by moviegoers as Mr. Spock. Half-human, half-Vulcan, half-terrestrial, half-alien, Mr. 'Star Trek' was a television series that contrasted the calm and sensible character of Spock with the emotional character of Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner. Even though he had to play an unemotional character in the movie, Mr. Spock was the conscience of 'Star Trek'. It depicted a fictional post-World War III future in which humans had joined with other sentient beings across the galaxy to form the United Federation of Planets.

The Vulcan salute is a hand gesture popularized by the 1960s television series Star Trek. It consists of a raised hand with the palm forward and the thumb extended, while the fingers are parted between the middle and ring finger. The gesture was devised by Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy as a salute for the alien Vulcan species, and is popular within the Science fiction fandom and nerd culture. The blessing phrase "live long and prosper" (written by Theodore Sturgeon) is frequently spoken alongside it.

Leonard Nimoy's ambivalence in identifying with this role is clearly revealed in two autobiographies: one written in 1975, 'I Am Not Spock', and the other in 1995, 'I Am Spock.'

After the completion of 'Star Trek', she played the role of Paris in another adventure TV series 'Mission Impossible'. From 1976 to 1982, he starred in the TV series 'In Search of...', which focused on the disappearance of pilot Amalia Earhart. She played the role of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in the TV movie 'A Woman Called Golda', opposite Ingrid Bergman as Golda's wife. Later, he played the life of the famous painter Vincent van Gogh in his one-man theater play 'Vincent'. Nimoy, who did not give up acting even in his old age, continued to portray the role of William Bell in the Fox television series 'Fringe'.

He directed many films, including the highly acclaimed comedy film 'Three Men and a Baby', 'A Streetcar Named Desire', 'Cat on a Hot Tim Roof', 'Fiddler on the Roof', 'And the King and I', He acted in theater plays such as 'My Fair Lady'. Leonard Nimoy, who is also a talented writer, published poetry books and children's story books. But he could never shake off his identity and popularity as Mr. Spock, the space traveler with green blood flowing through his veins.

The space adventure of 'Star Trek', set in the 23rd century, first started on NBC television on September 8, 1966, and ended in 1969. With the screening of repeats, the film became a cultural phenomenon. Although it was first known simply as 'Star Trek', it was later referred to as Star Trek: Original Series or Classic Trek.

'Star Trek' In this movie, Leonard Nimoy plays Mr. Zachary Quinto played the older version of Spock and the younger one.

Leonard Nimoy was born in Boston to Orthodox Jewish parents who immigrated to the United States from Ukraine. His mother, Dora Spinner, was a housewife and his father, Max Nimoy, was a barber shop owner. Since he grew up in a predominantly Italian part of the city, most of his friends were of Italian origin. Later, when talking about his youth, he would say that he encountered anti-Semitism.

Leonard Nimoy married Sandra Zober in 1954, and they had two children, Julie and Adam. After Nimoy divorced his first wife, he married film producer Susan Bay in 1988. In December 2002, Nimoy announced that he was retiring as an actor and that he would now devote his time to photography, one of his greatest hobbies. And so he did, becoming very successful as a professional photographer, opening exhibitions of his photographs in the United States and around the world.

MR SPOCK'S VULCAN SALUTE

Fans of the 'Star Trek' series who call themselves 'Trekkies' have kept the memory alive for many years. 'Trekkies' was especially a fan of Mr.Spock. The Vulcan salute and motto, which is the 'symbol of long life', used by him in the series, became used by his fans. In fact, it was Leonard Nimoy who created this greeting and brought it to the character in the series. Nimoy said that he was inspired by the hand gesture used by rabbis in Hebrew blessings and that he suited it to the character of Mr. Spock. Mr. Spock's hand gesture is stated to be a blessing sign of Cohanim in Jewish tradition. It is also possible to encounter this hand motif on the old tombstones of the Cohens and in synagogues.

Leonard Nimoy, who spoke Yiddish and lived a Jewish culture in the later stages of his life, explained how he started using this hand gesture in a video shot by the Yiddish Book Center and how this gesture turned into a gesture specific to Mr. Spock.

The hand gesture itself is a slight modification of the Hebrew gesture that forms the letter "shin", representing the name Shaddai, meaning "almighty god". This gesture is still used today by Orthodox Jews of the Kohanim, priests of the Ahron lineage. These kohanim constitute a subset of the descendants of the priestly tribe of Levi.

The hand gesture was not the only part of the gesture borrowed from Jewish tradition.

Live long and prosper and the lesser-known Vulcan traditional peace and long life response were based on the Jewish “shalom aleichem” and the traditional “aleichem shalom” response.