Divorce or Get: Which Comes First?

I am getting divorced, and I’m discussing getting a Jewish divorce (get) with my husband. My question is, does it matter whether the civil divorce comes first?

Daf HaYomi, Mishna and Talmud

I have a cousin in New York whom I call on occasion, and at times when I call to speak to him his wife tells me he’s “out doing the Doff”. I’m a little embarrassed to ask her what that means, so could you possibly shed some light on this for me? Much appreciated.

Cremation or Burial

My mother was recently put into hospice and for the first time she’s facing death as a reality. We’ve been discussing burial and her desire, and she has been leaning towards cremation so not to put any financial burden on our family. Something feels wrong to me about that; to me it’s worth a financial stretch to have her buried the traditional way, but I wanted to know if Jewish law is ok with cremation or is there a real reason to prefer burial?

Cremation

As my mother has gotten older she has expressed a desire to be cremated. I have spoken to her about this and reminded her that she couldn’t be interred in a ‘Jewish’ cemetery (And asked her if 6 million Jews being burned wasn’t enough). She has resisted my arguments. I fear that if she dies, I won’t be able to attend her funeral. I could use some help here.

Conversion: Why?

Recently a non-Jewish friend asked me why someone would want to convert to Judaism. Although I could think of a lot of reasons, I’m not sure which one was the best. What would your answer be?