“The day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth” (Eccl. 7:1). King Solomon, the erstwhile cynic sage who devoured the best this world had to offer, came to this startling conclusion in the midst of his wilderness wanderings through human wisdom and experience. If read out of context, his pessimistic words might seem like the musings of somebody who had given up on life entirely. The line that follows, however, puts things into perspective: “It is better to go to a house of mourning