His soul longed/ to desire greatly/ crave
He longed; he wanted very much.
("And Hamor spoke to them, saying: 'Shechem my son—his soul longed for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife'" - Genesis 34:8, Hamor to the sons of Jacob; and likewise: "Their souls longed for the Torah, and their Torah was acquired through understanding of the heart and through closeness of companions. A person learns much from his teachers and much from his friends, and they were teacher and friend to each other" - Mordechai ben Yechezkel / Sefer HaMa'asiyot, Part Four, The Barefoot Tzaddik, 91)
Translation
Expression (Hebrew)
חָשְׁקָה נַפְשׁוֹ
Definition (Hebrew)
הִשְׁתּוֹקֵק. רָצָה מְאוֹד.
("וַיְדַבֵּר חֲמוֹר אִתָּם לֵאמֹר: שְׁכֶם בְּנִי חָשְׁקָה נַפְשׁוֹ בְּבִתְּכֶם תְּנוּ נָא אֹתָהּ לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה"- בְּרֵאשִׁית לֵד ח, חֲמוֹר לִבְנֵי יַעֲקֹב, וְכֵן:"נַפְשָׁם חָשְׁקָה בַּתּוֹרָה, וְתוֹרָתָם נִקְנְתָה בְּבִינַת הַלֵּב וּבְדָבוּק חֲבֵרִים. הַרְבֵּה לוֹמֵד אָדָם מֵרַבּוֹתָיו, וְהַרְבֵּה מֵחֲבֵרָיו, וְהֵם הָיוּ רַב וְחָבֵר זֶה לָזֶה"- מָרְדְּכַי בֶּן יְחֶזְקֵאל/ סֵפֶר הַמַּעֲשִׂיּוֹת חֵלֶק רְבִיעִי, הַצַּדִּיק הַיָּחֵף, 91)