The Vulcan salute was based on a Jewish blessing and the Hebrew letter Shin, which has three upward strokes and looks like this: ש Who knew? (Answer: Wikipedia.)
Another beautiful illustration from Patrick Moberg. I can’t resist the reblog as this is one of my favorite Jewish culture influences on the secular world.
The blessing is called Birkat Cohanim, or the Priestly Blessing. It can only be done by Cohens, which are patrilineal descendants of Moses’ brother Aaron and the Priestly Tribe of Israel. If you know someone named Cohen, Cohn, or Katz (an acronym for Cohen Tzedek or Righteous Priest), they are likely of the Cohen tribe.
There is some evidence that Cohens have a distinct y-chromosome genetic attribute.
My family (at least me, my brother, my father and his father) are Cohens. We will bless you any time for 5 shekels.
