For the rest of the story, once the casket arrives at the grave side, someone, usually the Rabbi or a close family relative will use the shovel to symbolically crack the wooden slats before the casket is lowered into the grave. Once lowered into the grave, the Rabbi will say a prayer, and then using the backside of the shovel, put some dirt onto the casket. Then he will pass the shovel to the deceased closest relative, to do the same, and eventually all the people that are in attendance that would like to partake in this ritual, will have place dirt on the grave.
Something that is relatively new to the "traditional" Jewish funeral is for the Rabbi to sprinkle a small amount of dirt that is originally from Israel into the grave. This is symbolic to the deceased being buried in the Jewish homeland. Jewish funerals, like most religious funerals are also subject to local custom, and as such, I have seen a lot of variations through the years, and at different locations. The only thing that is consistent, is the inconsistency in customs. In the 1950's, I don't ever remember a Jewish person being buried in a metal casket. By the 1980's, it seemed to be quite commonplace. Also, the casket, no matter what it is made of, cannot have been worked on during the Sabbath (Saturday) and wooden caskets are supposed to be manufactured with no screws or nails, only pegs to hold it together. I don't know how much this is being adhered to today.
