Demonstrates the cogency and inner rationality of the classical statement of Judaism in the Oral Torah, bringing together a theological assessment to bear on the whole of rabbinic literature. The author shows how the proposition that God is One and all-powerful but also merciful and just, defines the system and structure of rabbinic Judaism. He argues that in working this proposition out in detail, the classical texts generate the central rabbinic problem: how can the conflicting traits inherent in the proposition be resolved?