We’re all feeling the mix of joy, pain, and relief as the remaining hostages finally came home this week. It’s what Tal Becker calls “renewed agency for our people.”

For months, Eli Sharabi has been one of the faces of that struggle. Since his release last February and now through his book, his story has become a mirror for all of us.

As we know all too well, Sharabi spent 491 days in captivity, much of it underground in tunnels with no sunlight, no air, and almost no food. What kept him alive, he said, was the thought of rushing home to his wife and two daughters. That image became his oxygen. Every day, he pictured their faces and told himself to hold on a little longer.

But his story is more than one man’s survival. It’s a microcosm of what........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)