‘Benediction’ appropriates the ‘Live Long and Prosper’ hand signal. It is
used as a farewell gesture by the Vulcan People from the program Star Trek It
serves as a symbol for a fictional Vulcan race of logic-based humanoids that
have repressed and subdued all emotional thoughts and feelings. This hand gesture is actually an abbreviated version of a traditional
Jewish religious blessing. It is based on the ancient hand symbol used by the Kohanim and is symbolic of divine immanence. During filming of an
early Star Trek episode actor Leonard Nimoy (who is Jewish) used the
gesture while ad-libbing the line ‘live long and prosper’.
