"Of all the souls I have encountered ..."

It's strange, how you can become so attached to, and so influenced by, someone whom you have never met,
never will meet, and with whom you have practically nothing in common. Someone who doesn't share your religion, your morals, your worldview, or your life mission. All you share is some small insight on the world, some moment or point of agreement; and from that point, they change the rest of your life.

Such was Leonard Nimoy to me.

Leonard Nimoy reminded me of my dad, my philosophy professor, and the other wonderful, wise Jewish men I have been blessed to know. It wasn't just his wonderful work in film and television that made me respect and admire him, but also his off-screen intelligence, love of learning, and graceful humor.

I never met him. But I'm going to miss him.

From my very first Star Trek TOS episode, it was the character of Spock, the stoic half-Vulcan second-in-command, who captured my imagination and respect the most. Spock was wise, patient, intelligent, loyal, and, somewhat paradoxically, very often unsure of himself and his identity. Perhaps because I saw "Amok Time" very early in my episode explorations, or perhaps because I paid more attention and careful thought to his character than to the others at first, I quickly realized that the common belief that Spock had no emotion was completely inaccurate. On the contrary; Spock felt more deeply than any other member of the Enterprise crew. It was only his "otherness," his lack of belonging, that made him afraid to show weakness or his deep emotion in front of his human crewmates. I understood this well.

Later, I branched out from Star Trek to explore Nimoy's work in other TV shows of the 60's and 70's, such as Mission: Impossible, Get Smart, Columbo, Bonanza, and The Twilight Zone. I wept while I watched Spock die in Star Trek II, and reveled in Nimoy's masterful directing in Star Trek III. I sighed for joy when I watched him in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Unification." And later, I enjoyed watching some of his interviews and following his funny, poignant Twitter feed. I considered him my adopted grandfather, after he offered to adopt anyone who wanted to belong to his family.

I miss him already.

***

In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Spock sacrifices his life to save Captain Kirk and the rest of the Enterprise crew. At his funeral, through his tears, Captain Kirk says quietly:

"Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most ..."

*pause*

"Human."

And that was what Mr. Leonard Nimoy was. The most human.

Goodbye, Mr. Nimoy. Farewell, my dear Mr. Spock. Thank you for teaching us humans to be a bit more patient, a bit more self-controlled, and a bit more logical.