Spock was Hebrew
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly Psalm 84:11
Good – “Live long and prosper,” is the Vulcan greeting in Star Trek. Spock might as well have used the Hebrew word tov. Occurring 738 times in the Old Testament, the general idea of tov is utilitarian. To be “good” is to be well-suited for the right purpose, to be in proper, working order and to be beneficial to life. So, when God observes His creative activity in Genesis 1 and proclaims it tov, He is telling us that it is all in proper order, perfectly designed to do what it is supposed to do. That, by the way, includes how you and I were designed – to fit perfectly into the proper order established by God.
Tov is the ultimate word for serviceable, but unlike the Greek idea of “good”, tov is not about some abstract quality that belongs to the ideal. For the Hebrew, tov is about my personal assessment of what works for me. It is subjective personal advantage that qualifies something as “good.” That is why Ecclesiastes 9:7 can say that eating, drinking and making merry are “good”, without any hint of condemnation. If it benefits my life and the life of my community, it is “good.” Of course, since my life and my community are intimately intertwined with the will of God, no good thing will ever oppose Him. On the other hand, He will provide me with every good thing because doing so accomplishes His purpose for me and my community.
Sound good, doesn’t it? God designs me to fit in a perfect way and then provides all that I need in order to accomplish that purpose. Every thing He gives is good because it is for my benefit and is serviceable. I am satisfied (another nuance of tov) because I am doing and being exactly what I was meant to do and be. Perfect fit.
There is a flip-side. To not serve according to the perfect fit of my design is to turn away from the good God gives. It is essentially the same as rejecting Him and serving other gods. Let that sink in a minute. If I am not doing the perfect thing that God has designed me to do, then I am not fitting into the proper, working order of His created universe. If I am not fitting His universe, then I am trying to make the universe into my own version of creation, and, ipso facto, I am serving and worshipping something other than God.
This sets up the only real question: Am I doing exactly what God designed me to do? No good thing will be withheld from me if I am perfectly in alignment. But if I’m not, well, that’s another story.
An interesting piece of trivia related to the title of this article (and only four years late); Leonard Nimoy (who played Dr Spock) was Jewish and grew up attending synagogue. These experiences as a child and a young man influenced his portrayal of Spock to some degree. Apart from the Vulcan greeting (which may well have been influenced by Hebrew thought), there was the Vulcan salute. In an interview Nimoy related remembering the leader of the synagogue delivering the Aaronic blessing over the congregation and making the sign of the Hebrew letter “shin” with his hands as the Levitical priests apparently used to do when speaking the blessing (shin being the first letter of “shem”, the Hebrew word for “name”, in response to “…you shall place My Name on them…”). It was this sign that became the Vulcan salute.
Kol tov.
“Am I doing exactly what God designed me to do?” “No good thing will be withheld from me if I am perfectly in alignment.”
I’m wondering if the following logic applies to the statements above?
1. We have been designed to obey God; to do the right thing.
2. We have been given the freedom to serve ourselves and to commit immoral acts.
3. Whatever situation we are engaged in was given to us by God.
So we are doing what God designed us to do if we accept what is given and do the right thing.
And whatever God gives us is good by definition.
Speaking of Spock:
Maureen Dowd noted that, “Mr. Obama has a bit of Mr. Spock in him (and not just the funny ears). He has a Vulcan-like logic and detachment.”