rear pew mirror • doug brook
Enterprising Jews
Space… the final shpatzir… to boldly go where no minyan’s gone before… Judaism has a long history in the future of reaching for the stars. The Vulcan salute from Star Trek is famously adapted from Judaism. Many writers for the original series were Jewish. And there are the actors. Many know that Leonard Nimoy, the original Spock, was Jewish. Almost as many know that the captain himself, William Shatner, is tribal, too. But the list goes on. Check off Chekov, and check the list twice. Walter Koenig, the original, and Anton Yelchin, the newer — both Chekovs, born to Russian Jews. Even Winona Ryder, who played Spock’s mother the second time around, is one of many guest players who were eligible to have first cut their chops as a bar or bat mitzvah. With the original series, the Jewish adventure was only beginning. While nobody on Voyager or Enterprise grew up at a seder table, the Passover meal was just another order to Commander Data’s alter ego, Brent Spiner. The four main Ferengi of Deep Space Nine were all Jews, which some deemed controversial. The Ferengi are the Star Trek universe’s insidious merchants — diminutive, annoying, self-important, conniving, and always looking to make a profit. Some believe they’re an anti-Semitic portrayal, akin to what many believe of “The Merchant of Venice.” Of course, Ferengi existed long before these castings, so the notion is, as one of the four Ferengi actors famously lisped in another fantastical film, inconceivable. Equally inconceivable is how to apply certain Judaic laws and customs aboard a starship. For example, Shabbat begins at sunset and ends after the next sunset upon seeing three stars in IN SPACE, the sky. In space, how can one witness a sunset? Which sun setting over which planet, and based NO ONE on what time? Quite simply, wherever the ship is, at a time CAN HEAR pre-determined to sync up with the solar schedule YOU DAVEN on Earth and matching up with shipboard time, viewscreens are set to show the sun setting on a planet in a nearby system at the appropriate time. Similarly, at the end of Shabbat the same is done, with the assistance of a non-Jewish crewmember operating the controls. As for seeing three stars, some insist on closing all portals for Shabbat so no stars are seen until the appropriate time after sunset. Non-Jewish crewmembers take Shabbat rotations. However, many circumstances fall under the “to save a life” clause, including battles and not being able to shut down all ship’s power from sunset to sunset. Because… life support. Speaking of supporting life, there is little Jewish practice without food. Recreation rooms on the Enterprise always have three food dispensers. One each for dairy, meat, and pareve. Astute observers will note that food dispenser trios sometimes temporarily appear in random places throughout the ship. The reason is simple: they were specifically for Passover. After all, what’s the only food ever seen coming out of a dispenser in the transporter room? Chicken soup. What about off ship? The Klingon Culinary Conflict of 2263, where they were given the rules of kashrut to accommodate the devoutly Jewish ambassador. After the first two pages of restrictions, the Klingons cancelled the diplomatic meeting, setting relations back several years. When praying, Jews must face east, symbolically toward Jerusalem. Three continued on previous page 38 Southern Jewish Life • February 2017