{"id":3626,"date":"2015-03-09T14:26:09","date_gmt":"2015-03-09T14:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rsa.fau.edu\/blog\/?p=3626"},"modified":"2026-02-03T19:40:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:40:49","slug":"live-long-and-prosper-leonard-nimoy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rsa.fau.edu\/blog\/events-general-interest\/live-long-and-prosper-leonard-nimoy\/","title":{"rendered":"Live long and prosper – Leonard Nimoy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Did you know Star Trek’s Mr. Spock was Jewish?<\/h3>\n\n\n
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\"Leonard<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Leonard Nimoy  passed away February 27, 2015 in Los Angeles at the age of 83.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The son of Yiddish speaking Orthodox Jewish immigrants from Iziaslav, Soviet Union, Nimoy began acting at the age of 8.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

He starred in minor movie roles through the 1950s,  but he is probably best remembered for his role as Spock. Nimoy captivated audiences in his role as the half Vulcan, half human Spock in the original Star Trek TV series (1966-1969), and earned himself three Emmy nominations. He later appeared in numerous Star Trek and other films and directed Nimoy directed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock<\/i> in 1984 and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home<\/i> in 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vulcan salute, which became identified with him was created by Nimoy from his childhood memories of the way kohanim<\/i> (Jewish priests) hold their hand when giving blessings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the clip below Leonard Nimoy explains the origin of the Vulcan hand signal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n