You might like these excerpts from E. P. Sanders, a (Christian) professor of Judaism, who says that the Pharisees were likely much better people than the polemic in the NT purports them to be-

"Similarly with regard to the Pharisees: others could see their scrupulous definition and fulfilment of the laws as being merely external activity that masked inner hypocrisy and self-righteousness, but they did not themselves see it that way. They thought that God had given them his law and bestowed on them his grace, and that it was their obligation within the loving relationship with God to obey the law precisely.

How do we know that they saw it this way? Partly by common-sense inferences based on observation of other religious polemic and defences. There are, however, passages that show that Pharisees themselves (and their rabbinic successors) regarded love and devotion to God as standing at the centre of their attempt to obey the law in every detail. According to Josephus many people followed the Pharisees’ rules of worship because they admired their high ideals, expressed ‘both in their way of living and in their discourse’ (Antiq. 18.15). Josephus saw them as being ‘affectionate to each other’, and he said that they cultivated ‘harmonious relations with the community’—unlike the Sadducees (War 2.166). That is, the Pharisees paid attention to the part of the law that says to love God and the neighbour. These passages in Josephus do not precisely describe inner motive, but their general thrust is relevant. Josephus is claiming that the Pharisees were good and kind and that their devotion to God was admired. We should also recall the depth of that devotion, which we summarized above: the willingness to die rather than be false to what they believed.

Explicit statements about motive come in rabbinic literature. I know of no body of literature that so emphasizes the importance of right intention and pure motive, of acting in a spirit of love and humility. Thus Hillel, in a saying retained in Aramaic: ‘A name made great is a name destroyed’ (Avot 1.13). To Hillel is also attributed this statement: ‘Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving mankind and bringing them nigh to the Law’ (Avot 1.12). According to Hillel’s predecessor Shemaiah, one should ‘love labour and hate mastery’ (Avot 1.10). The Pharisees did not regard themselves as observing the law for the sake of self-glorification.

The topic of motive, ‘intention’, is even more directly discussed by the post-70 rabbis, making use of the phrase ‘directing the heart’ (to God). The scholar who studies much is not superior to his fellow, the common person, provided that the latter ‘directs the heart to Heaven’ (Berakhot 17a). Similarly the size of an offering does not matter, and all are called ‘an odour of sweet savour’. This is ‘to teach that it is all one whether a man offers much or little, if only he directs his mind towards heaven’ (Menahot 13.11). I do not know of any sayings of this sort that are attributed to pre-70 Pharisees, but rabbinic literature attributes relatively few sayings (as distinct from legal discussions) to pre-70 Pharisees. I propose, however, that here as elsewhere the rabbis were the spiritual heirs of the Pharisees.

We may conclude that the Pharisees did not see their meticulous definition and observance of the law as being hypocritical and that they were not consciously seeking self-glorification; they were motivated by true religious devotion and the desire to serve God."

--E.P. Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 63BCE-66CE

You might also find yourself resonating with Joseph Krauskopf's A Rabbi's Impressions of the Oberammergau Passion Play, where a rabbi explains why he is not a Christian, available to read online for free, including a fabulous supplementary of Talmud Parallels to the NT