In Jewish death rituals as in life, coronavirus is changing everything | The Forward

For many Jews, it is one of the most visceral of rituals: helping shovel the dirt to cover a casket of a loved one. At a recent graveside service, before the stricter limits on public gatherings kicked in, Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner explained a new part of the ritual.
“If you are wearing gloves, you can shovel earth on the grave and place the shovel in the dirt for the exact next person with gloves to participate,” Kirshner, head rabbi at Temple Emanu-El in Closter, N.J., instructed mourners. “If you do not have gloves, you can use your bare hands to throw earth in the grave.”