Salvation in Orthodox Judaism is based on the performance of the commandments of God, yet their scriptures maintain the impossibility of that command. The psalmist acknowledges that all have sinned, which means that not one person has perfectly obeyed all the commandments of God. Even King David, whom the “The Lord . . . sought out [as] a man after his own heart . . . to be prince over his people” (1 Sam 13:14), killed a man so he could get away with committing adultery with the man’s wife. David received special affirmation that he was specially able to understand and obey God’s will. Yet even he committed very obvious sins. Human sinfulness should be undeniable to Jews.
At the same time as attempting to maintain human sinfulness, the Tanakh upholds the perfect holiness of God. Joshua says to the people of Israel, “‘You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and
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The world contains both unity and plurality, but Jews describe their god as solely ultimate unity, not both, quoting places in the Tanakh which say so. Moses says “there is no one like the Lord our God” (Exodus 8:10), and Yahweh commands his people, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Since this god is ultimate unity and has no expressions of plurality, creation should follow in that form. But our world is very diverse, containing both unity and plurality. There are billions of people in the history of the world, and all are unique. There are thousands of species of animals, plants, and organisms. Many different cultures flourish throughout the world. The universe manifests plurality, unlike the Jewish