Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide

Aaron and the fighting friends: A Story of Being a Rodeph Shalom (Pursuer of Peace)
by Nechama Retting and Tobey Greenberg, based on Avot d’Rabbi Natan 12:3. Used with permission.
A long time ago, there was a boy named Aaron. He had two
siblings, a brother named Moses and a sister named Miriam.
Aaron was very kind, and he loved peace. He also believed
that everyone should try to get along and be kind to each
other. Every day when he walked through the village he
greeted everyone he saw. He would say “Boker tov! Good
morning! How are you today?” to everyone, even the birds
and the animals. Everyone loved Aaron.
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Once, when Aaron was out walking, he saw two people, who he knew were friends,
having an argument, screaming at each other. He saw the anger in both men’s eyes as
they stormed off. Aaron felt sad. He hated to see
people angry. Aaron waited a few days to see if the
friends could work out their problem. When he saw that
nothing changed, he decided that he had to do
something! Aaron went up to the first man, who was
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named Shmuel, and said, “Shmuel, your friend David told me that he is so sorry about
what happened. He is so sad that you are not friends anymore.”
“Really?” asked Shmuel. “I am so happy to hear that! I miss my friend David.”
Then Aaron went to see the second man, David, and said, “David, your friend Shmuel is
so sorry about what happened. He misses you and your friendship.”
“Really?” asked David. “I really miss Shmuel too. I think I
will go see him right away!”
The friends meet each other in the street and hugged each
other. They were so happy to be able to work out their
disagreement and especially happy to be friends again!
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For class discussion:
1. How did Aaron get the two friends to make up?
2. Do you think the friends would have made up if Aaron didn’t help them? What
else might have happened?
3. How could you help two friends if they were fighting?
For class life:
1. Revisit this story when you see an argument occurring in your classroom. Ask for
volunteers to be a rodeph shalom and help the arguers work it out.
2. Consider making rodeph shalom a job if you have a job chart, so all the children
get a chance to practice this skill.
3. Act out this story. Check in with the actors about how their characters feel at
different parts of the story. Talk about why being a pursuer of peace is such a
good thing.
Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide
USCJ Department of Education
Maxine Handelman
Handelman@uscj.org
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