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Part One: The Foundations of the Volftsun Family 31 and other signs of a celebration. "What happened, what happened?" they asked. "Never mind," Shlomo said. "Just enjoy yourselves." In the Soviet Union, Russian Jews oen went to elaborate pains to observe Jewish lifecycle events and other mitzvot without being detected. Even 18 years later, Iosif himself went through extremes to organize the circumcision of his son Lev. The ceremony of Iosif 's bar mitzvah was intensely private. No rabbi. No guests. No reception. Shlomo and Hava presented Iosif with a long talit, or prayer shawl. Then, with just his parents presiding, Iosif chanted the prayers and Torah that for thousands of years heralded the transformation of a Jewish boy into a Jewish man. It was a moving service, just the three of them. At that moment, Iosif accepted the obligations and privileges of a Jewish man. For example, he would wear tefillin, two boxes containing Biblical verses, and be counted in a prayer minyan om that day on. As the children grew up, Hava eventually set up a stand that sold candy, ice cream, and a popular Russian drink similar to Coca-Cola called Kvass. The stand was next to a commuter Kvass was what was known as a "bread—or leaven—drink." Fermented and mildly alcoholic, Kvass can also be almost alcohol-ee and at its strongest is only around 1-1.5%. It is oen flavored with uits or herbs such as strawberries or mint. It is sometimes called "children's beer" although it is favored by all ages. Russians also use Kvass for cooking okroshka, a special summer cold soup. In urban Russia, kombucha (a beverage that has been popular in Russia since the start of 20th century) is sometimes referred to as "tea Kvass" or (incorrectly) simply as "Kvass," although these two drinks are different. Kvass has been a common drink in Russia since ancient times. It has been both a homemade and commercial product. It is consumed widely in Ukraine, and in almost every city there are Kvass vendors on the street. Aer the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the vendors disappeared om the streets of Latvia due to new health laws that banned its sale on the street and economic disruptions forced many Kvass factories to close. The Coca-Cola Company moved in and quickly dominated the market for so drinks, but in 1998 the local so drink industry fought back by selling bottled Kvass and launching an aggressive marketing campaign. This surge was further stimulated by the fact that Kvass sold for about half the price of Coca-Cola. Kvass train line that served Moscow. In seventh and eighth grade, Iosif manned the stand when his mother went for lunch or errands. Most of the customers were people going to and om Moscow. Candy was sold by the piece and the ice cream was sold between two wafers like a sandwich. There were two sizes, large and small. The family made the ice cream by hand, using a wooden tub cooled by ice and salt. The Kvass came om a bucket. The stand had a number of glasses. When a customer ordered a Kvass, Hava or Iosif would fill a glass for the customer to drink and then rinse the glass out for the next customer. They did their best to maintain basic sanitary practices, but it wasn't easy and, truth be told, many of their customers were not exactly attentive to their own hygiene. Iosif didn't like working at the candy stand very much, but he loved his mother so he helped her. Iosif 's sisters were mostly ashamed that their mother had to run a candy stand. The job was low status and they didn't want anything to do with it. In Russia, during Soviet times, many people regarded shopkeepers and small storeowners as oppressive to the working people. The prejudicial assumption was that owners of small stores cheated customers.

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