Anyone want to know how the "Live long and prosper" hand sign came about?
They were about to tape the episode where Spock goes to Vulcan to marry his bethrothed wife. Nimoy thought that Vulcans should have a sign like humans shaking hands, bowing, etc. He remembered when he was 8 or 9 years old, at his orthodox synagogue... there was a blessing that the congregation recieved, in which they would cover their heads and their eyes with their prayer shawls, and the guys giving the blessing would go on the platform and do a blessing. His father told him not to look. Being a kid, he peaked. The men on stage were also covered in their shawls, with their arms outstretched, making the Vulcan sign. It was representative of the first Hebrew letter of the word Shekhina. He later discovered that they covered their faces to avoid being blinded by the light from the feminine form of God.