live long and prosper

I have been advised that the priestly benediction was done, for many years, with two hands over the person with the fingers spaced with two fingers on one side and the other three (which includes the thumb) on the other side.

An orthodox Jew, by the name Leonard Nimoy, made the hand display well known to Jews and non-Jews alike by using it in original Star Trek. He then added the line LIVE LONG AND PROSPER as a vulcan salutation.

Was the salutation that much different from the intent and purpose of the priestly benediction? I think not. But, I am not a Rabbi, nor do I profess to have the knowledge and expertise of a Rabbi. Obviously, the "Vulcan" hand sign together with the saying "live long and prosper" has taken on its own life and longevity.

But, if we think about the "Vulcan" saying, it may have a value to Jews as we enter the New Year.

Live long certainly can imply that we are being inscribed in the book of life for another year and, hopefully, for many more. And to prosper should mean that we are good Jews and that whatever we do, we must pursue our hopes and dreams and at the same we must try and help others to live long and prosper.

Over the weekend (after going to visit a terminally ill cancer patient in NYC), we had the honor of per chance meeting with Leonard Nimoy a/k/a SPOCK on the street. He was very nice and it was, without doubt, a pleasure to meet him and briefly talk to him.

As we start the New Year we did a mitzvah of visiting a patient at Mt Sinai who is very ill. That mitzvah was apparently rewarded by the kismet visit with Leonard Nimoy.

To all of my FHC family, Star Trek fans, and others in general I wish you all a Happy and Healthy New Year, and I wish you to Live long and Prosper.

Shalom.

Jeremy

Jewish Death

While we should always remember the family members and friends who have passed away, this is again that special time of the year when we enter our family members into the Book of Remembrance, look to the memorial board to view the names, and make the obligatory and customary trip to place the stones on the graves of the departed. All of these things are very somber, sad and meant to evoke feelings of loss and emptiness that the person you cared for is no longer with us.

However, it would be nice if someone came up with a more upbeat method of remembering the departed. It would be nice if the rituals that conjure up our memories of the departed brought a smile to our face, made us happy. If the death and remembrance rituals that we do could somehow be made to evoke happiness and joy, maybe those rituals would be things that we could look forward to and not feel the heavy burden of sadness and remorse.

Do not misunderstand what I write. I am not suggesting that the loss of a loved one should be thought of as a joke. I am not suggesting that we should not say Kaddish or not do the traditional things we, as Jews have done for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

Now I know that when I pass, and I hope it will be a long time from now, there is not going to be a huge outpouring of sadness. (For some, that could be interpreted in several ways.) Hopefully, my contemporaries will not be there, for as Frank Sinatra once said to Dean Martin, "I hope you live to be a hundred and I am one of your pallbearers." But seriously, I would not want a huge outpouring of sadness. Rather, I would prefer a nice Jewish service, with a kosher casket (if possible, made by Rubbermaid so that my remains remain), and I would want a procession with all the music and trimmings of a New Orleans funeral.

Although it is unlikely, I would love joyous singing and dancing, food, wine and spirits to be served to all my survivors. I hope the joy would not be based upon my passing (although, if some people derive pleasure from that, so be it), but rather based upon my survivors recognizing my belief that my passing is merely another link in the chain of life and that the survivors should be steadfastly enjoying the time G-d has given each and every one of us on this place we call earth.

Am I making light of something somber? No, if anything, I am making light about by own demise. Could this philosophy be a defense mechanism to react to the concept of death. Certainly. However, as I get older, and presumably wiser, I have come to realize that being depressed, or sad or unhappy about loss is not anything better than flipping the concept on its head and making death a time to appreciate the life that has passed and the lives that still remain to carry on.

So I hope that we all live to be healthy and hundred and twenty and that if any of you survive me, you enjoy my demise. Not because you are glad to see me go, but because you enjoy my philosophy of trying to appreciate both life and death.

Shalom. Jeremy

Judaica

When you look around your house do you see Mezuzahs on the doorposts? Do you see kiddush cups in the dining room cabinet? Do you see multiple menorahs? Is your library filled with books about Judaism, and/or by Jewish authors? Do your walls have Jewish artwork and pictures of Jewish events like your children's bar or bat mitzvah? If per chance you do not have this stuff in your house, you need to load up on your Judaica and make your "goyisha" home more Jewish. There is nothing to be afraid of and nothing to be ashamed of if your house lacks the Jewish touch. You can fix that problem by either visiting the Sisterhood Judaica shop, or alternatively, you can go online and "Jewup" your house. (My editor wanted me to add that the term "Jewup" is not meant in a derogatory manner and that it was only meant in jest. My editor also wanted me to add that your home should smell like brisket to help "it smell Jewish".)
I am pleased to say that unless you are completely oblivious to Judaica, you would know immediately that our home is a Jewish home. We have the mandatory Mezuzah at the door, the Judaica in the dining room and the Jewish artwork including Chagall lithographs and photos from bat mitzvahs. Even as I write this in bed on the laptop, I look across the room to a lithograph on the wall that states in Hebrew and in English "In pursuit of Justice".
That saying, I think, sums up one of my core beliefs about why we are here on this planet.
But, on another level, it is my belief that if you are Jewish, and your home does not feel Jewish, you are missing something. You are, in fact "not doing justice" to your home if it does not feel Jewish.
Look around your home. If it needs Jewish "chotkes", get them. Make your home feel and look like a Jewish home to do it justice.

Shalom.
Jeremy