The Vulcan greeting is a Jewish symbol for God. It is the shape of the Hebrew letter "Shin" which is taught to be the first letter in one of the names of God. (See Kabbalah for more on that.)
I saw Nemoy about three years ago speaking at a local synagogue in Betheda, MD. He was...fascinating.
He told a story about when he was a child, his family was very observant and went to a very Orthodox synagogue . He said that the hand gesture (as I said...a symbol for God) is used once a year (with both hands) when the head Rabbi blessed the entire congregation to protect them for the coming year.
He was told that he was to lower his gaze during this ritual or else the power of God would strike him dead like a with lightning bolt. Being a precocious young lad, he, of course, sneaked a peak.
He, needless to say, was not struck dead. But the passion with which the Rabbi pled for his community and the beauty of the physical gesture moved the young boy.
Years later when on the set, while filming "Amok Time" the production would filming scenes on Vulcan for the first time. It would also be the first time in the show that a Vulcan interacted with another Vulcan.
I can't remember who suggested that some unique greeting should be used (probably D. C. Fontana) or who wrote the line, LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.
But remembering back to his childhood and how much he was moved by the whole experience, Nemoy suggested the now famous hand gesture. The actor playing the other Vulcan could not do the gesture, so their hand was taped together.
Fascinating.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan_salute
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A side note: He didn't say this, but I think Steven Spielberg either had a similar experience as a child or knew the story from Nemoy and incorporated it into Raiders of the Lost Ark.
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