The Pharisees had much wrong with them. They loved virtue. They moved into spirals of righteousness. But they could strip the law back and they knew the principles behind it: they built their ethics from principles.
When the Temple fell that is all they had left.
The problem they had is that in their holiness spirals they forgot to love.
28One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 29Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; 33and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ — this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.
The Pharisees are given to us as a warning, because we can too easily hate. It is easy to hate. It is easy to damn.
The path of righteousness is not there.
The path of righteousness is when we love the Lord and our neighbour, and pray for those who show virtue while being anything but.