Can we ever erase from our minds the terrible frightened faces of the six million? Standing in lines on railway platforms. Dressed in drab European grays and browns.

We will never know how close we came to seeing those ranks of holy martyrs swelled by the gold kaftans of Yerushalmi Jews and the khaki shorts and blue hats of kibbutzniks.

In 1942, Rommel and a huge tank-force stood at the gates of Palestine. Nothing was between him and the Jewish settlement. The British forces prepared to evacuate Palestine. They started to burn documents.

At this very moment, Rabbi Kahanaman purchased a lot near Tel Aviv and laid the cornerstone for a new Yeshiva. People thought he was crazy. He responded that G-d hadn't brought him to Israel to be murdered by the Nazis. (Rabbi Kahanaman went on to build the Ponevezh Yeshiva, one of the largest in Israel today.)

In the desert in 1942, the only thing holding the Germans back was a lack of drinking water. They discovered that the British had laid a water pipe through the desert. The British had just finished this pipeline and they were checking it for leaks. Instead of wasting valuable drinking water, they were pumping sea-water through the pipeline to check its integrity. The Germans guzzled the sea-water from the pipes and surrendered in terrible agony.

A miracle, or a coincidence?

We live in an era where it's very difficult to see G-d's hand in the world. When you see a wall, you know that something is blocking your view. When there is no wall you can think that you see everything.

The Torah itself tells us that G-d will "hide His face from us." That we won't see Him. The expression the Torah uses is "hasteir astir" -- "I will surely hide My face." The verb is doubled. It is as though G-d is telling us that He will hide even the fact that He is hiding.

The greatest concealment is that the concealment itself is concealed.

Jacob saw our generation some three and a half thousand years ago. He saw "Esau coming in the distance." He saw Esau executing "the Final Solution." And he saw him fail.

He also saw the other face of Esau, when he pretends to be our brother. Jacob saw that Esau would try to smother us with a brotherly embrace. A brotherly embrace that wants to tell the Jewish People that three thousand years of miraculous survival is merely coincidental; that there is no One behind the wall, because there really is no wall at all and we can see everything. We have the technology!

Jacob saw this silent holocaust of Jewish souls "coming in the distance." He looked heavenward. He cried and begged G-d for mercy for his children; that whether Esau would try to burn our bodies or our souls, he would ultimately fail.

I have a question concerning a greeting found in the Star Trek series, which, as someone told me, has a Jewish origin, and I would like to know more about it. Mr. Spock from the planet Vulcan greets people with "live long and prosper" while holding his hand towards them with a gap between his thumb and first finger, and a gap between his middle and third finger, forming something like the letter "W". I was told that Leonard Nemoy, the actor who plays Mr. Spock, has Jewish parents. I have also seen this hand symbol on plaques and souvenirs in Israel when I visited that country last year. It showed two hands forming this sign and around it was a Hebrew blessing, as I was told. I would like to know more about this and thought that you might be able to help me. Thank you in advance for your efforts.

Dear Heiko, Rachel and all you Trekkies out there,

Yes, Leonard Nemoy is Jewish, and his "Vulcanic" hand-gestures originate from the Torah.

The Torah commands the kohanim, the descendants of Aaron, to bless the Jewish people. They are to stand in front of the congregation, raise their hands to shoulder level and pronounce the "priestly blessings" found in the Book of Numbers (6:22): "May G-d bless you and keep you...."

This commandment has been performed by kohanim in synagogues until this very day. The prevalent custom today is that the hands are held together palms-down, and the fingers are split such that there are 5 spaces: One space between the thumbs, a space between the thumb and first finger of each hand, and a space between the second and third finger of each hand. The 5 spaces are an allusion to the verse in Song of Songs 2:8 which states that G-d "peeks through the cracks in the wall." In other words, G-d protects and watches the Jewish people even when He is hidden.

As mentioned, a kohen is someone descended from Aaron (Moses's brother) and therefore from the tribe of Levi. Even if a Kohen can't split his fingers in the proper manner, he can still give the priestly blessing. The ability to split your fingers in the proper manner is absolutely no indication that you are from the priestly tribe.

By the way, "Captain Kirk" (William Shatner) is also Jewish. (My wife went to the same camp as his daughter.) The phrase "Set your phasers to stun," however, is found nowhere in the Talmud.