Overheard: Hard and Soft in people

The Torah in parshas Shemini lists two kosher signs. One is hard, the hoof; the other is soft, the digestive organs (chewing the cud). This teaches us that a "kosher" person must know when to be hard and unyielding and when to be soft and forgiving. One who reverses these signs and is hard when he should be soft or soft when he must be hard, is not a kosher animal.

This reminded me of a contradiction:

...R. Elazar immediately entered [the study hall] and taught: "A person should always be soft like a reed and not hard like a cedar." (Ta'anit 20a-20b)

but...

Talmid-Chacham should be hard like iron that breaks up the rock (Taanis 4a).

Don't these two statements contradict?

Isn't this a contradiction?

 

Here is the solution:

 

Pirke D'Rabbi Eliezer (CH.1):

 

Horkonus, the father of Eliezer, was a respected land owner. He had several fields that needed to be plowed. Some of the land was soft earth and some was hard. It is related that Horkonus came out and saw his son Eliezer crying. He assumed that it was because he had been given the task of plowing in the hard section of his father's land.

Horkonus told him to plow in the soft fields instead. When he returned he saw that Eliezer was again crying. "Are you crying because I gave you the easy land to plow?" he asked his son.

"No, that is not the reason" was the reply.

"Then why do you cry?"

"I desire to learn Torah." ...

Here is the explanation:

Torah knowledge enables one to know when to be hard and when to be soft!

R. Eliezer realized that he could not be even a kosher person without learning. He did not know when to plow the soft and when to plow the hard.

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