Tasty, traditional Kiddush with local flavor and camaraderie. Say a little L'chaim, enjoy a little Nosh, fresh fruit and Kosher delights spiced with some shmoozing (see about shmoozing below). Feel right at home.

Somewhere in a shtetl there once was a Rabbi who was fed-up with the constant chatter and loud conversation in the synagogue during prayers. So he got up and made a serious ban on any talking in his shul, with warning of serious consequences to those who would disobey. The congregation actually liked their Rabbi and didn’t want to upset him to much so they stopped talking.

Sometime after this change in synagogue decorum, the shtetl fell into a slight economic depression. And it goes progressively worse. The Rabbi and the communal leaders got together to research the problem. And all things pointed to the lack of talking in Shul!

Sabbath was the time people got together. By talking in the synagogue, they found out about each other’s lives, struggles and challenges. Yaakov found out that Dovid was trying to sell his horse, and Hirshel realized that Chaim was out of work. People had opportunity to hear about each other's hobbies, interests and personal needs. This networking time was important. So, the Rabbi went back and lifted his ban and soon afterwards things improved again.

The truth is – idle chatter during prayer isn’t so Kosher. And there are better places to get together and talk than in the synagogue. But the message of this story is that informal networking (i.e. schmoozing, in Yiddish) is important.

A little Kiddush after prayers is important. It is an informal time for people to chat, to catch up (hopefully not on negative gossip) to connect with each other over some good food and drink. It's informal and there's no formal way to do it right. Everyone who participates makes everyone's Kiddush all the more richer and enjoyable.