NOTES for Bar 5:1-9

Garments of mourning and bitterness are our armor, our attitude toward life. When someone is asked, “How are things?” the answer heard most often is, “Not bad,” and any positive attitude toward life is immediately suppressed: “You mustn't say that; you'll jinx it.” This is both our armor and our blinkers: we will say nothing good, but will carefully remain sad, grow bitter, and envy the joy of others. Yet the Lord regards abandoning such camouflage as the first step on the road to the heavenly Jerusalem. The splendor of glory from God and the garment of righteousness are our true calling—the righteousness that consists in the Lord having prepared for us a dwelling where there is no place for mourning or bitterness.