Only if immediate relatives cannot arrive in time from abroad, or there is not enough time for burial before Shabbat or a holiday, are burials postponed for a day. If you don't already have funeral plots purchased, you or a representative will need to contact a cemetery to purchase a plot. You will also need to contact a funeral parlor to transfer the body and schedule the time of the funeral. Jewish law mandates a simple pine box, so although you may need to choose a plot, you don't need to concern yourself with elaborate decisions about coffins. However, many Reform rabbis will officiate at funerals involving cremation and embalming, according to Reform Rabbi Steven Chester.
Men prepare men and women prepare women.
They wash the body with warm water from head to foot and, although they may turn the body as necessary to clean it entirely, including all orifices, they never place it face down. If, however, a person suffered an injury and blood soaked into his or her clothing, ritual washing is not completed. From the moment of death, the body is not left alone until after burial. Traditional Jewish funerals are very simple and usually relatively brief. Reform Jews often do not follow these practices.