Burial Services

Traditionally, a Jewish burial may either be held entirely at the burial site, or may be held in a chapel or a synagogue.  The service is usually led by a rabbi, but may also be led by a family member or person familiar with the service and appropriate prayers. Malinow and Silverman can conduct funeral and burial services at any cemetery, including: Hillside, Eden, Mount Sinai Hollywood Hills, Mount Sinai Simi Valley, Home of Peace, Green Hills, Pacific View, Harbor Lawn and many others.  If you do not already have cemetery property, we can help you choose which cemetery would be best for your family.  Please note that Malinow and Silverman does not have a direct affiliation with any cemetery, and does not endorse any one over another.

The casket is typically present at the service.  You have the option of having the remains interred (earth burial), or they may be entombed in a crypt inside a mausoleum (above ground burial). 

The casket is usually closed during the funeral service. This is to honor the dignity of the deceased.  If the family wishes to view the body they may do so privately prior to the funeral.

If the service has taken place in the chapel, the mourners will follow the casket to the burial site.  There, the casket is taken from the funeral coach and carried by pallbearers.  Prayers are then recited at graveside, and the casket is lowered or placed in the designated space.

The rabbi will then direct the mourners to begin to fill the space with earth using a shovel.  Some like to use the back side of the shovel to place dirt into the space, signifying the difficulty and reluctance to perform this task.  Each person traditionally places three shovelfuls of dirt into the space, returning the shovel to the  earth before stepping aside to allow the next mourner to begin.

Cemetery Types

Monument cemetery: A monument cemetery is the traditional style of cemetery where headstones or other monuments made of marble or granite rise vertically above the ground.  There are countless different types of designs for headstones, ranging from very simple to large and complex.

Lawn cemetery: A lawn cemetery, or memorial park, is where each grave is marked with a flat bronze or granite plaque that is placed horizontally at the head of the grave at ground-level.  Families can still be involved in the design and the information contained on the plaque, using the specific guidelines of the cemetery.

Mausoleum: A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people.  A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the mausoleum.  The most famous mausoleum is the Taj Mahal in India.  Above-ground spaces are referred to as wall crypts.

Columbarium: Columbarium walls are generally reserved for cremated remains.  While cremated remains can be kept at home by families or scattered somewhere significant to the deceased, a niche space within a columbarium provides friends and family a place to come to mourn and visit. 

Natural cemeteries: Natural cemeteries, also known as eco-cemeteries or 'green' cemeteries are a new style of cemetery set aside for natural burials.  Natural burials are motivated by the desire to be environmentally conscious.  Conventional markings such as headstones are generally replaced with a tree or a bush or a placement of a natural rock.

There are alternatives to burial. See Cremation Services