Home
Log in / Sign Up
    Private Messages   Advanced Search   Rules   New User Guide   FAQ   Advertise   Contact Us  
Forum -> The Social Scene -> Entertainment
To Boldly Explore the Jewish Roots of ‘Star Trek



Post new topic   Reply to topic View latest: 24h 48h 72h

Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 06 2022, 11:03 am
I don't know enough about Star Trek but how Nimoy (the actor who played Spock on the TV series) used an Orthodox gesture he had observed in synagogue as the Vulcan greeting of hello/shalom/peace is widely known.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/0......html

Otherwise it might be very interesting if you have any kids who are Star Trek fans or Science Fiction fans.

LOS ANGELES — Adam Nimoy gazed across a museum gallery filled with “Star Trek” stage sets, starship replicas, space aliens, fading costumes and props (think phaser, set to stun). The sounds of a beam-me-up transporter wafted across the room. Over his shoulder, a wall was filled with an enormous photograph of his father — Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock on the show — dressed in his Starfleet uniform, his fingers splayed in the familiar Vulcan “live long and prosper” greeting.

But that gesture, Adam Nimoy noted as he led a visitor through this exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center, was more than a symbol of the television series that defined his father’s long career playing the part-Vulcan, part-human Spock. It is derived from part of a Hebrew blessing that Leonard Nimoy first glimpsed at an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Boston as a boy and brought to the role.

The prominently displayed photo of that gesture linking Judaism to Star Trek culture helps account for what might seem to be a highly illogical bit of programming: the decision by the Skirball, a Jewish cultural center known mostly for its explorations of Jewish life and history, to bring in an exhibition devoted to one of television’s most celebrated sci-fi shows.

But walking through the artifacts Adam Nimoy recalled how his father, the son of Ukrainian Jews who spoke no English when they arrived, had said he identified with Spock, pointing out that he was “the only alien on the bridge of the Enterprise.”

Jewish values and traditions were often on the minds of the show’s writers as they dealt with issues of human behavior and morality, said David Gerrold, a writer whose credits include “The Trouble with Tribbles,” one of the most acclaimed “Star Trek” episodes, which introduces the crew to a cute, furry, rapidly reproducing alien life form.

“A lot of Jewish tradition — a lot of Jewish wisdom — is part of ‘Star Trek,’ and ‘Star Trek’ drew on a lot of things that were in the Old Testament and the Talmud,” Gerrold said in an interview. “Anyone who is very literate in Jewish tradition is going to recognize a lot of wisdom that ‘Star Trek’ encompassed.”

Back to top

Cookiegirl




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 06 2022, 11:21 am
Not sure if this ever made it to a TV episode, but one of the Star Trek books had a set of characters called the Ka'arahs- and their names were Zeroa, Beitza, Marror and Charoset...

There's probably a lot more but I don't study Star Trek lore too deeply (although my DH is a fan).
Back to top

PinkFridge




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 06 2022, 12:12 pm
Fascinating, isn't it?
There's a story about Steven Hill, z"l, who needed a minyan one day, so he went to the set of Star Trek and grabbed a few Jews, besides Nimoy and Shatner.
Back to top
Page 1 of 1 Recent Topics




Post new topic   Reply to topic    Forum -> The Social Scene -> Entertainment

Related Topics Replies Last Post
Jewish Book Recs?
by amother
60 Tue, Mar 26 2024, 11:56 am View last post
Baltimore: Jewish school for nonfrum family
by amother
15 Sun, Mar 24 2024, 10:19 pm View last post
Crawling baby- Jewish style edition
by amother
5 Wed, Mar 20 2024, 11:36 am View last post
Is there any older jewish novel that you are interested in?
by amother
0 Sun, Mar 17 2024, 8:32 am View last post
ISO instrumental Jewish music album with no words, any recs?
by amother
12 Fri, Mar 15 2024, 10:05 am View last post