My family's Soviet-era Rosh Hashanah dinner is all about delicious food and freedom

This story originally appeared on The Nosher.

Most of my American Jewish friends ate brisket, kugel and babka at their family High Holiday feasts. I often imagined what that would be like, curious about the dishes that were so popular with my friends but were never served in my own home. In my Soviet immigrant family, our holiday meals looked quite different.

Typically, my maternal grandmother, Mira, hosted both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur at her home. These meals always had a very specific four-course order. The conversations were lively, imperfect, raucously joyous - sometimes tears were sh...