Types of Burial

Field Burial
A flat surface above ground in which the graves are arranged at fixed distances between them below the surface of the land. This has been the prevailing burial method among the Jewish people in recent generations.
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Sanhedrin (Multi-Tier) Burial
This burial is conducted in structures built according to the Halachic rules. The deceased is placed on a special bed, which is inserted into an alcove, like the Sanhedrin burial discovered in Jerusalem and various other places in Israel.
The alcoves, which are built with a connection to the earth, have the same dimensions as ordinary graves. In the support wall, a window has been built that serves as an opening to the grave built in the mountain behind the wall. The deceased is inserted through the supporting wall into the grave built in the earth behind the wall.
After the deceased is inserted into the grave, the grave is covered by filling the window space with sacks of earth and sealing the opening with a marble plate and silicon sealing materials. The family then inserts another plate on the opening with the same writing usually engraved on the tombstone.
A stone shelf is built underneath every tombstone enabling the family to place memorial candles and the like on it. The dimensions of the grave are the same as the dimensions of a grave in field burial. The thickness of the wall is not counted as part of the grave's dimensions. The distance between graves is at least 40 centimeters on the sides and 60 centimeters between the lower and upper tier.
Advantages:
Land is saved by building burial halls.
The area is utilized efficiently by burying three deceased persons in alcoves and another deceased person in field burial in the upper surface supported by the support wall.
It is easier to insert the deceased into the grave and cover the grave.
The tombstone is less expensive.
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Family Couple Burial
This burial is conducted below ground. Hevra Kadisha digs a grave at the depth stipulated by Halacha. The first deceased is buried at the bottom of the grave and covered with stones constituting a cover for the grave, and with earth, as required by Halacha. A second deceased is buried above the first one.
This method uses one grave for two deceased people, one above the other, in the same space as one field burial grave, and at twice the depth. These graves are usually used for burying a couple. The first of the couple to pass away is buried in the lower grave and the remaining spouse in the upper grave. The tombstone placed on the grave after the first death is disassembled when the spouse dies, and is rebuilt by the family after the second burial. The tombstone, which is the same size as a regular tombstone in field burial, will contain writing about both deceased persons buried under it. It can be designed with some separation for the two names. The length and width of the grave are the same as the usual dimensions in field burial.
It is also possible to put bury another person above an existing grave.
Advantages:
This burial method emphasizes the togetherness of a couple.
Building the second grave of a couple is much cheaper.
The cemetery's land is utilized more efficiently.
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Triple Field Burial
This burial is conducted below ground. Hevra Kadisha digs a grave at the depth stipulated by Halacha. The first deceased is buried at the bottom of the grave and covered with stones constituting a cover for the grave, and with earth, as required by Halacha. A second deceased is buried above the first one, covered with stones and earth, as required by Halacha. A third deceased is buried above the second one, as in family couple burial, using the above method.
It is also possible to put bury another person above an existing grave.
Advantages:
This burial method emphasizes the togetherness of a couple.
Building additional graves is much cheaper for a family member.
The cemetery's land is utilized more efficiently.
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Top Burial
This type of burial takes place above a deceased buried many years earlier in an individual field burial grave conducted with no preparation for additional burial. After the tombstone is removed, Hevra Kadisha prepares another space in which the second deceased is buried. At no stage in the preparation is there contact with the first deceased; digging takes place only as far as the stones covering the first deceased.
After this action is taken, the first deceased is buried at the bottom of the grave, covered with stones and earth as required by Halacha, and the second deceased is buried above the first. The second deceased is covered with stones and earth, above which a common tombstone is erected. In this burial method, which is common in Israel, a larger number of deceased persons can be buried above each other.
This burial method was developed for cases in which a family wishes to bury a deceased person close to another person buried in the same cemetery, but there is no available plot near the location.
This method enables two deceased people to be together by being buried one above the other in the same area of one field burial. Such graves are usually used to bury a couple. The first of the couple to pass away was buried in an individual grave in a field burial many years earlier, and no plot was purchased for the spouse or one of the family members. The tombstone erected over the grave after the death of the first deceased person is disassembled on the day on which second deceased is buried and rebuilt by the family following the second burial. The tombstone, which is the same size as a regular tombstone in field burial, will contain writing about both deceased persons buried under it. It can be designed with some separation for the two names.
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High Burial
This burial takes place in a multi-storey structure. A deceased person can be buried on each floor using either family couple or field burial.
This burial method is very similar to the field burial method that has prevailed among the Jewish people in recent generations, other than the fact that under the concrete surface used as the floor is a space used for burial at a lower level, and there is sometimes a ceiling above the burial surface, with the ceiling also being used for another burial floor. The dimensions of the graves and the distances between them are completely identical to a field burial.
Advantages:
The land is used more efficiently through high-rise construction.
Those visiting the cemetery are protected by the ceiling from rain and the sun.
There is no problem of unacceptable innovation, because burial is conducted in accordance with the method prevailing in Jewish communities in recent generations.
This method is a good solution for developing the landscape of a cemetery, because it reduces the areas of concrete-exposed high walls.
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