Kabbalat Panim means, literally, welcoming faces..
The Hebrew word kabbalah means to receive or to welcome. (For this reason, the Jewish mystical tradition is known as kabbalah or “received wisdom”.) In modern Hebrew usage, kabbalat panim is that part of the week where everyone has just arrived, has a beverage and a little nosh (wine and cheese). It is a time for individuals to get to know each other, to become a group. We together transform ourselves into a worship community.