On question 2, the rabbis I've seen during actual services are definitely set apart - satin, embroidered yarmulkes and rather ornate prayer shawls at the *very least*. Not quite as elaborate as Catholic vestments, but still quite clearly not one of the congregation. It's also worth noting that rabbis are also only provisionally priests; in Judaism, that's the role of the tribe of Levi (thus, Book of Leviticus) who are charged with maintaining burnt sacrifices in the Temple of the Covenant in Jerusalem. The Romans pretty much wiped that business out in 70 AD, and everything that we associate with the ritual functions of Judaism has sprung up after that. Rabbis are really just "teachers," that is, religious scholars, who offer prayers in synagogue, but aren't really exercising the direct intercession with Y-H-W-H that the priesthood used to.
And will again, once the Messianic prophecies are fulfilled (the bit about the red heifer being born in the Holy Land and the re-establishment of the Temple.)
One of the things I really like about Judaism in its current form is that the real religious rituals happen at home - Shabbat meals, the Seder, that sort of thing. Very autonomous/anarchistic.
And for #1., well, yes and no.
I do find the clothing I wear -especially colors or slogans (more specifically, the absence thereof)- has an effect on my bearing in a magical kind of way, yeah. But the most common form of "magick" I practice is the semi-regular tai chi class, during which I wear whatever I wore to work, as long as it's loose and comfortable. This, I find, is also sort of freeing.
I do have a little necklace with a likeness of an African river god on it (bit of a cheesy souvenir, I'm afraid) that I kind of regard as a lucky/powerful object, but not so much that I won't take it off from time to time.
I imagine if I was working on something that I deemed "important" or "difficult" (I'm not sure why the quote marks seem necessary, but they do), I'd dress for the job - get all my symbols in a row, as it were. But so much of my worldview in this realm comes out of taking everyday stuff and seeing what you can do with it, that I like the idea of simply being comfortable in whatever you've got on and using that in its own merits. (With the caveat that I avoid brand name items and designer logos whenever possible, so all the clothes I'm likely to be wearing are semiotically pure, rather than borrowing associations from major multinationals.) |
