The concept of God’s oneness stands at the very heart of Judaism.
From the thunderous declaration of the “Shema” to the theological reflections of medieval philosophers and mystics, Jewish thinkers across the centuries have grappled with what it means to say that “Hashem is One.” In his new book, Jewish Concepts of Divine Oneness, scholar Job Y. Jindo offers a concise yet penetrating overview of the different models of monotheism that have emerged in Jewish tradition from antiquity to the present.
As part of Cambridge’s Elements in Religion and Monotheism series, the short volume Jewish Concepts of Divine Oneness is both scholarly and accessible, designed to guide readers – Jewish and non-Jewish alike – through the diverse understandings of divine oneness in the Jewish canon. Jindo’s central claim is that while belief in God’s oneness is a constant in Jewish life, its precise meaning can vary in different strains of Jewish thought.
Shared commitment to the oneness of the divine
What unites the various formulations is not a fixed theology but a shared commitment to the oneness of the divine, however it may be conceived.
To chart this evolution, Jindo divides Jewish intellectual history into four major periods: Biblical, Rabbinic, Medieval, and Modern, showing how scholars from each period engaged with the concept of divine oneness. Each of these sections contains a thoughtful introduction to the theological tendencies of its era among Jewish scholars, with ample references for further study.
A robust bibliography at the end provides readers with an excellent road map to the vast literature surrounding this topic.
The Biblical Phase highlights what Jindo (following scholars like Yechezkel Kaufmann and Benjamin D. Sommer) terms the “qualitative” monotheism of the Hebrew Bible.
Rather than affirming merely the numerical singularity of God, the Bible presents a deity whose uniqueness lies in His absolute freewill, creative power, and personal relationship with humanity.
Drawing on the prophetic literature and creation narratives, Jindo underscores that biblical monotheism is deeply relational: The God of Israel is not a remote abstraction but a living personality who actively engages with His people.
The Rabbinic Phase continues this relational framework but channels it through a new center: the Torah.
Post-Temple Judaism
In post-Temple Judaism, the rabbis upheld the primacy of divine law and study, which according to scholars like Daniel Boyarin, led to the development of a theology in which the Torah itself becomes the primary conduit to God. Jindo provocatively describes this development as a kind of “binitarianism” – an unfortunate and awkward term (as discussed below) in order to highlight the overly-exalted status of Torah in rabbinic theology, where it is seen not merely as a legal code but as a form of divinity Itself.
In outlining the Medieval Phase, Jindo offers a well-informed contrast between the rationalist philosophers (typified by Maimonides), who emphasized divine simplicity and incorporeality, and the Kabbalists, who embraced a more dynamic, multi-aspected vision of God through ideas like the sefirot. Jindo is especially effective in showing how each of these systems seeks to preserve divine unity, albeit through very different metaphysical frameworks.
Another point that Jindo stresses in this context is how the cold, abstract God of the philosophers (Unmovable Mover) represents something of a break from the traditional biblical and rabbinic conceptions of God as a living entity who engaged with His creation.
Marginal and secular Jews
In the Modern Period, however, the study somewhat falters. Jindo focuses almost exclusively on marginal and secular Jewish figures like Baruch Spinoza, Sigmund Freud, Viktor Frankl, as well as to antinomian, heterodox rabbis, namely Abraham J. Heschel and Mordecai Kaplan. In focusing on these five figures, the author skips over much of mainline Jewish thought throughout the Renaissance period and Early Modern period.
Moreover, while each of these thinkers contributed important insights into Jewish thought, they were either openly anti-religious or aligned with denominational movements that have since distanced themselves from their theological legacies. The views of these figures certainly do not represent important Jewish views on the topic in the same way that the discussions cited earlier do.
Meanwhile, central voices of contemporary Orthodox Jewish theology – such as Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner, Rabbi Moshe Shapiro, and Rabbi Shnayor Z. Burton – are not even alluded to.
And important Jewish philosophers like Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, and Hermann Cohen receive little more than passing mention or are omitted entirely.
By focusing squarely on Modern thinkers peripheral to mainstream Judaism – who were often openly critical of halachic tradition – Jindo bypasses the rich theological discourse within both contemporary Orthodoxy and serious non-Orthodox Jewish philosophy. This exclusion is especially glaring, given Jindo’s stated aim of presenting diverse models of divine oneness.
Litmus test
Throughout the book, Jindo returns frequently to the “Shema” prayer (Deuteronomy 6:4) as a litmus test for theological interpretation. He thoughtfully surveys the various ways in which this central verse – “Hear, O Israel: Hashem our God, Hashem is One” (which is but one of many ways of translating that passage) – has been understood across the centuries. Whether seen as a statement of exclusive loyalty, divine unity, or cosmic uniqueness, the “Shema” serves as a window into the diversity of Jewish monotheistic expression.
And yet, while Jindo’s typological approach is often illuminating, it also raises concerns. His decision to describe rabbinic monotheism as a form of “binitarianism” is particularly problematic. He argues that the rabbinic exaltation of Torah borders on treating it as a divine entity in its own right. But this misunderstands the rabbinic position: Torah is not a second god but rather a revelation of the One God’s will.
There is no duality here – no theological dyad. If one wanted to explore the possibility of binitarian structures within Judaism, far more appropriate candidates would be found in the thought of the Raavad I (HaEmunah HaRamah) or in the dualistic speculations of Abraham Miguel Cardozo and other Sabbatian thinkers. But those theorists are also peripheral and need not be treated in an introductory book like this one.
Additionally, the book’s conclusion departs from its otherwise neutral tone to offer a fairly explicit critique of theological absolutism and a valorization of pluralism and relativism. While Judaism indeed celebrates a multiplicity of voices, it also draws boundaries. There remains an Overton window of acceptable belief.
To ignore this is to misrepresent the very tradition Jindo seeks to elucidate. The book would have been stronger had it engaged more directly with thinkers such as Jan Assmann, who explored the boundary-drawing function of monotheism through the “Mosaic distinction” between truth and falsehood.
Nevertheless, Jewish Concepts of Divine Oneness succeeds in its primary aim: to present a readable, thought-provoking introduction to one of Judaism’s most foundational (and possibly complex) theological claims. It is a valuable resource for students, scholars, and general readers alike. With all its limitations, Jindo’s study invites us to return anew to the question at the heart of Jewish faith: What does it mean to proclaim that “Hashem is One”?■
Jewish Concepts of Divine OnenessBy Job Y. JindoCambridge University Press, 202488 pages; $65