An active member of the Jewish community in New York and a long-time real estate developer, Shalom Lamm has been involved in several Jewish initiatives including co-founding the Hatzoloh volunteer medical squad and sitting on the board of directors of Camp Morasha. Shalom Lamm is also a member of the Hevra Kadisha, a sacred society tasked with ensuring that deceased Jews are prepared for burial according to tradition and that their remains are protected.

There are three stages to preparing the deceased, each with its series of events that must be observed in accordance with customs. There is the washing of the body, followed by a purification ritual, and finally, the dressing. Typically, there are no open casket funerals and caskets are not used at all in Israel, rather the body is wrapped in a tallit, a prayer shawl.

Cremation is completely forbidden as the body should be allowed to decompose naturally. To that end, embalming is not practiced either.

The Hevra Kadisha is a vital part of Jewish communities and their duties have evolved over the years and according to local customs and legal constraints of the Jewish diaspora outside of Israel.