Did you ever wonder where the special Vulcan greeting in Star Trek came from?

Actor Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock) introduced it to the show. Turns out that as a boy in synagogue, he saw this gesture when he peeked out from under his father's tallit (prayer shawl). The ceremony and blessing come from this week's Torah portion, Naso. The words of the priestly blessing ( Birkat Kohanim) are among the oldest in continuous liturgical use. Archaeologists have even found the words etched on scrolls found in tombs dating from the seventh century BCE! When the Temple stood, kohanim (priests) blessed the people every morning at the end of the service with these words, now recited (by Ashkenazi Jews) on the three festivals (Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot), High Holy Days (Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur) and sometimes on Shabbat:

The interesting fingering position forms the Hebrew letter shin, referring to one of God's names, Shaddai (Almighty), leaving five 'windows' through which God's blessings can flow to the congregation. The idea of five spaces comes from a verse in Song of Songs telling us that God "peeks through the cracks in the wall." In other words, God watches over and protects us even when God appears to be hidden.

The last line (God 'lifting up our face') contains an image that is particularly beautiful...one of God holding us up and smiling at us, much as a parent might do with a child.

The blessing is followed with this line: "Thus they will link My name with the people of Israel, and I will bless them." So, even though it seems that the kohanim were blessing the people, they were really the conduits for blessing which comes from The Holy One. When we act with kindness and holiness, we too can be conduits for spreading God's blessing!