A birth is certainly a happy event, but the joy is mitigated by great responsibility and concern: How will this child act, and what experiences does his future hold?

Against your will you are formed, against your will you are born, against your will you live, against your will you die, and against your will you are destined to give an account and a reckoning before the King, King of all kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.

“A good name is better than fragrant oil; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth” (Ecclesiastes 7:1)…. When a person is born, they await [in the heavens, to see what will become of] him, until his death, and once he has died, they await [to see what became of] him, until he is granted life. When a person is born, everyone is happy; when he dies, everyone weeps. But it should not be so; rather, when a person is born, one should not be happy for him, as it is unknown what will be his fate and what deeds he will perform: Whether he will be righteous or wicked, good or evil. It is when he dies that they should be happy, as he passed away with a good name.

This can be compared to two ships that set sail on the Mediterranean Sea; one was leaving the port and one was entering the port. For the one leaving the port, everyone was happy, but for the one entering the port, they were not happy. There was a certain perceptive individual there who said to them: I see matters to the contrary: As for the one leaving the port, they should not be happy for it, as no one knows what its fate will be: How many days it will remain at sea and how many storms it will encounter. When it enters the port, everyone should be happy, as it entered in peace.

So, too, when a person dies, everyone should be happy and praise God, as he passed away in peace from the world with a good name. This is the meaning of what Solomon said: “And the day of death than the day of one’s birth.” You find that when the righteous are born, no person senses [his greatness], but when they die, everyone senses [his greatness]. (Mishna Avot 4:22; Kohelet Rabba 7)