The Sages of the Mishna teach: "Captives should not be ransomed for more than their value, for the sake of the general welfare." The enactment of such a law was necessary in order to keep kidnapping from becoming a lucrative trade.
It would appear that his thirst for closeness to God, and his great longing for the Holy Land - the land wherein the Divine Presence rests - shook his inner being so strongly that no worldly enjoyment could compare to living in the land of Israel.
In life, each of us is antagonized and beleaguered by others. A number of possible responses offer themselves to the victim such hardships. Some approaches carry a seal of quality and truth; others steer a person in the opposite direction...