Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in his talk on the twenty fourth (24th) of Tishrei, 5750 (תהא שנת ניסים) commemorating the Yahrzeit of his maternal grandmother, Rebbetzin Raĉel Yanovsky.
Shielding the Soul
The nature of a vessel dictates its susceptibility to impurity. A vessel designed for war validates the existence of conflict; by acknowledging the opposing force, it descends into the domain of Tum’ah.
שלשה תריסין הם:
There are three (3) Shields
The Mishna specifically defines this vessel as the תריס, rather than the מגן or the צנה. Where a מגן shields from harm and a צנה preserves the internal state, the תריס directly engages opposing forces, shattering (רסס)[1] their attacks, acting as a restraining bit (רסן)[2] against them. To hold a תריס is to declare the tangible reality of evil which must be combatted. By meeting strife on its own terms, the shield functions as a weapon, becoming susceptible to the impurity it seeks to repel.
The susceptibility of the shield depends entirely on its degree of engagement with the negative forces. The Mishna defines a limit of three (3) levels of engagement, corresponding to תורה (no engagement), עבודה (partial engagement[א]) and גמילת חסדים (full engagement). There are thus three (3) levels of engagement:
תריס הכפוף – טמא מדרס
‘the Bent[ב] Shield’ – is [subject to] Treading[ג] [Impurity]
The Bent Shield surrounds the person on three (3) sides leaving on the side where he came from open. It operates on the premise of entering into a totally hostile environment, requiring absolute defense. Because it fully validates the existence and power of the adversary, it completely immerses itself in the reality of strife. Being fully engaged with the opposing forces, it is susceptible to the most severe[ד] degree of Tum’ah.
ושמשחקין בו בקנפון – טמא טמא מת
And that which is sported in the Arena – is [subject to] Tum’ah of Death
The Sporting Shield is utilized in the arena to test and display a soldiers’ skill and strength. It acknowledges the opposing force, but only as a sparring partner placed there to emphasize one’s own skills and strength, rather than an existential threat. Because its engagement with the realm of conflict is measured and partial, its susceptibility is limited only to a lesser degree of Tum’ah.
The term קנפון derives from כנף – edge, corner, or wing. Spiritually, this represents the periphery of holiness – the borderland where the light of מלכות meets the shadows of the mundane; the domain of נוגה. To “sport” in the Kinfon is to intentionally step to the edge, testing the soul’s strength against the friction of the material world without engaging in absolute warfare. The soul here does not view the world as entirely hostile, but it still acknowledges the friction of the boundary line – on one side there is life, and the other, death. Because the shield retains a functional, defensive reality it validates the existence of evil and thus is susceptible to the lesser Tum’ah of Death.
ודיצת הערביין – טהרה מכלום
And the Arabian Theatrical Sheild – is Tahor from anything.
The Theatrical Shield possesses the external form of a defense but fundamentally rejects its function. It operates in a reality where the adversary has no true substance or power. Because it provides no functional resistance, it refuses to engage with the existence of evil altogether. Possessing no active connection to the realm of strife, it remains entirely Tahor (pure).
The term ערביין – Arabs signifies the dwellers of the ערבה the desolate wasteland and shares the root of ערב the descending evening and darkness. This is the domain of emptiness and perceived evil. דיצה derived from the hapex legomena in the verse[3] ולפניו תדוץ דאבה – and dismay leaps/dances before him. It is one of the terms of Joy implying leaping, rejoicing, or play. Spiritually, this represents the approach that entirely nullifies the premise of evil. The soul does not raise a shield to block the darkness of the ערבה; it raises it in a dance. It treats the forces of the wasteland as an illusion, a mere prop in the Divine play, transforming the threat of the void into דיצה. Because it mocks the substance of the darkness and refuses to validate the wasteland with fear or combat, the shield is stripped of its martial identity entirely. It becomes an instrument of joyful expression rather than defense, completely detached from strife, and therefore remains Tahor.
[א] One of the purposes of prayer is to beseech G-d to change the effects of evil in the world.
[ב] Also known in Latin as the Scutum or in modern English as a Tower Sheild. Unlike a flat circular shield (buckler/targe) that only blocks direct frontal blows, the Scutum was specifically constructed as a semi-cylinder. It curved backward at the edges, designed to wrap around the soldier and protect the front and both flanks simultaneously.
[ג] Rooted in the word דרס tread, step, or trample, it is a unique and severe category of Halaĉic Tum’ah. It applies exclusively to vessels or garments that are expressly designed to support the weight of the human body – things meant to be sat upon, stood upon, laid upon, or leaned against. If a person suffering from a specific type of Tum’ah, such as a Zav or Niddah, places their body weight onto such an object, it contracts טומאת מדרס, even without direct physical contact.
The Bent Sheild is subject to Treading Impurity because the heavy Surrounding Shield (the Scutum) wasn’t just held; because of its massive size, a soldier would physically lean on it or sit on it during long marches, encampments, or lulls in a siege. Therefore, Halaĉa views it as a weight-bearing object.
[ד] Spiritually, the טומאה associated with a Zav or Niddah can be considered more severe even than death. Death is the cessation of the connection to life. A Zav or Niddah is taking the procreative power of the soul, as enclothed in the body, and changing that to a source of evil or death [the menstrual cycle represents the death of the egg].
[1] For variants, see Amos 6:11 and Yeĉezkel 46:14. Unclear of the connection to Shir HaShirim 5:2
[2] See Yeshayahu 30:28 and Iyov 30:11
[3] Iyov 41:14
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