Spock Was My Hero

I was wild about Star Trek as a kid but unlike my school buddies, I wasn't fond of Captain Kirk. He was way too fiery and combustible, just like my parents.



Spock was my hero: calm, rational, and funny in that understated way. He didn't bluster, he observed, and he solved problems with Hemingway-style grace under pressure. Nothing fazed him. I admired that wonderful sense of balance.



He was intriguing for other reasons. He was Jewish--and not just in real life. He was a space Jew in a way: diff...