A young Rabbi was asked by the local funeral director to hold a grave-side burial service at a small rural cemetery for a Jewish person with no family or friends The Rabbi started early but quickly got himself lost, making several wrong turns. Eventually, a half-hour late, he saw a backhoe and its crew, but the hearse was nowhere in sight, and the workmen were eating lunch.
The diligent young Rabbi went to the open grave and found the vault lid already in place.
Assuming that everyone had left and taking out his prayer book, he read the service. Feeling guilty because of his tardiness, he gave an impassioned and lengthy service, sending the deceased to the great beyond with great praise.
As he was returning to his car, he overheard one of the workmen say: “I’ve been putting in septic tanks for twenty years and I ain’t never seen anything like that.”