SHAVUOT (The Feast of Weeks) is so called because it completes seven weeks from the second day of Passover on which the omer (a measure) of the new barley was brought to the Temple. This holiday celebrates the early wheat harvest in Israel. It commemorates the covenant at Sinai between God and Israel, and the giving of the Ten Commandments. (From the Recon Press pocket calendar)

Please take advantage of JRF's Shavuot Resources:

RT Article: Shavuot: The Harvest Festival of Torah
By Rabbi Emanuel S. Goldsmith

Audio Interview: Shavuot
By Rabbi Shai Gluskin, Rabbi Linda Potemken, Rabbi Shawn Zevit
Rabbi Shai Gluskin and Rabbi Linda Potemken explore the history and meaning of the Jewish spring festival, the counting of the Omer, and the time of "receiving of the Torah."

Dvar Torah: Ruth, the First Convert
By Rabbi Richard Hirsh
We celebrate Shavuot, called in tradition "zman matan Torataynu", the season of the giving of our Torah, and by reading the book of Ruth.

Shavuot
Audio Program: Rabbi Shai Gluskin, Rabbi Linda Potemken, Rabbi Shawn Zevit
We explore the history and meaning of the Jewish spring festival, the counting of the Omer, and the time of "receiving of the Torah". An episode of Heart, Mind and Spirit.

Omer Project: Tikkun L'eyl Shavuot: The Many Paths to Revelation of Torah
Session Presenters: Rabbi Leila Gal Berner, Janet (Shifra) Tobacman, Rabbi Shawn Zevit
In this preparatory session for Shavuot, we will look at the spiritual practice of studying sacred text, with emphasis on the traditional themes of revelation (both of the earth's bounty and of Torah from a Reconstructionist perspective), of faith (The Book of Ruth) and how we come "down from the mountain" of peak experiences to live ethical and spiritually conscious lives in connection with our faith communities and the world-at-large.