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What is Shavuot?
Shavuot occurs 7 weeks after Pesach, punctuating the period of the sefirat haOmer (the counting of the omer). It is a holiday with its roots in Judaism's agricultural past, a celebration which was once meant to mark the harvest of the first fruits of the year. It's spiritual meaning, however, lies in its status as a holiday of remembrance (arguably, the function of all Jewish holidays, Judaism from one perspective being a mnemotechnics of sorts, i.e., an art, craft, or technology of perpetually returning to and renewing the primal past). What we remember, on Shavuot, is the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. If Passover is the holiday by which we recall the physical emancipation of the Jews from bondage, hence the profoundly Jewish obligation to care at all times for all people who are enslaved or oppressed, then Shavuot is the day on which we are meant to return to the moment of our spiritual liberation in and through Torah. 

How do we celebrate Shavuot?
To celebrate the giving of the Torah means, of course, to participate in the ongoing effort to receive Torah (broadly construed). Thus, on Shavuot, we celebrate (traditionally) by staying up all night to study, investigate, discuss. Shavuot celebrations often also involve reading/singing Hallel (the psalm of praise) as well as the Book of Ruth. (Why Ruth? I'm so glad you asked! The answer is, as always, overdetermined, but this article outlines various positions one might take.) And also: by eating dairy!? Because it was Shabbat when the Torah was given and thus there was no way to clean cookware for a hearty meal? Because the Torah is the milk that nourishes the Jewish people? Because who doesn't want to eat cheesecake?

*Originally published in 2023's "LJCC Weekly Announcements May 22⎮2 Sivan"