By Ben Murane

A new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip enters its second week as Jews around the world examine Jacob and Esau's reconciliation in Parshat Vayeshlach. Truthfully, the passage feels a world away: Israel and Hamas did not run to each other in tearful rapprochement like Jacob and Esau. And the prospects of final status negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians - Fatah and Hamas both - seem as distant as Biblical history.  But beneath the initial reading, this parsha helps us to strive for the ideal reconciliation while recognizing real negotiations can be less euphoric.