Rabbi James Stone Goodman is set to release his new book of poems and stories, “Fountain, Respect for Sources,” with a special, free live performance on Thursday, April 4 at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.) at Central Reform Congregation, 5020 Waterman Blvd. Joined by his wife, Rabbi Susan Talve, and frequent collaborators Brothers Lazaroff, Goodman will perform selections from the book set to music. Tickets to the event, which are pay what you want as a donation, can be reserved via Eventbrite.
“Fountain” is an invented form, a combination of stories and poetry, based on a guideline for spiritual growth adapted from Solomon ibn Gabirol, a Spanish-Jewish poet writing mostly in Arabic in the 11th century. The book is divided into six phases: Silence, Listening, Remembering, Practicing, Teaching, and Gratitude.
“I write these pieces in an old-new voice, privileged to have been taught by great minds on several continents. I have been an attentive student on a path that was a surprise to me,” Goodman says of the book, written as a way of thanking the teachers, influences and inspirations that, he says, “gave me life.”
“Fountain, Respect for Sources” is the second book in a planned trilogy that also includes “Espaclaria is a Mirror, Sometimes Cloudy Sometimes Clear,” published in 2023, and the forthcoming “Black Fire White Fire.”
