Musar על משלי 3:8

The Zohar relates (ibid.): Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai once had an encounter with Eliyahu in which the latter appeared to him in the form of an elderly man walking with a child. The man was attempting to cross a large river to reach the other side. Rabbi Elazar said to him, “Old man! Put the child on one of my shoulders and you sit on the other and I will carry both of you across this wide river.” The old man replied, “Are you not the leader of the generation? Therefore you cannot carry us across the river!” [That is, “I see that you are a scholar and have therefore been weakened by your studies.” For the Torah is called tushiyah, which means, “weakening,” because it weakens a man’s strength — (Sanhedrin 26b.) Rabbi Elazar replied, “Old man! Old man! If I were to grab you and this child with my two hands I could bear you a distance of half a mile beyond the river! As for your observation that the Torah is called tushiyah because it weakens a man’s strength, it is also called ‘healing.’ Thus is it stated, ‘It shall be a healing to your stomach, etc.’ (Mishlei 3:8), and it states, ‘And to all his flesh a healing’ (ibid. 4:20). I have imbibed of the Torah for many days as one who imbibes a tonic and my strength has been fortified thereby!” So he carried them across on his shoulders, after which he proclaimed, “Old man! Old man! My strength is great both in this world and the next and for the sake of this child I will not abandon you. I will not allow the Prince of Gehinnom to touch you but I will bring you into the World to Come with the great power that I have there.” Then the old man said to him, “Rabbi! Rabbi! Your strength is indeed great in this world and in the World to Come. You resemble the sun, etc.”