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“I am not trying to be confrontational, just trying to understand.”

Awesome..nice change of pace...

You are right...withing each of us in Jewish teaching is the yetzer hara and the yetzer tov. Yetzer hara means , loosely, evil inclination. So, conversely we have a inclination to good, the “tov”. So, the basics of it all would be something like this.

We are constantly “at war” so to speak with our evil inclination...when we serve G-d, through acts of kindness, mercy and so on, we are putting down the yetzer hara and that brings us close to G-d. Not out of burden do we do these commandments, but out of love for G-d. When we sin, we fall but we get back up, repent, turn away from the sin and keep trying. It is a process. My model is King David, read Psalm 119...176 verses...the longest in the bible, the topic? His love of the law. This is how David maintained a relationship with G-d. As, I mentioned earlier...

18. For You do not wish a sacrifice, or I should give it; You do not desire a burnt offering.
19. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; O God, You will not despise a broken and crushed heart.

Notice one thing...in all of the Tanakh (OT) there is not a single case...not one...where David...or Joe..or anyone is shown sinning and then taking an animal off to the temple for a sacrifice. Isnt that odd? If sacrifice is SO central to a relationship with G-d?

But what do we see CONSTANTLY requested of us by G-d? Do and obey...rend your hearts...not your garments...or this.

6. With what shall I come before the Lord, bow before the Most High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves?
7. Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8. He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord demands of you; but to do justice, to love loving-kindness, and to walk discreetly with your God.

So, in other words, do the commandments out of love. And when you do, you will care for your fellow man, love your neighbor as yourself (That is OT!), care for the widow and orphan, treat each other with justice.

The constant need for sacrifices were because the the temple was Holy. And there was a need to keep it that way. That is why nearly all sacrifices were for UNintentional sin...not intentional. Keep in mind G-ds presence was there, so we had to be very careful. And there were sacrifices that didnt have anything to do with sin. This was also a source of food for the poor and the people in general. There was a certain BBQ aspect to some of it. The food did not go to waste.

Also, there are deeper levels of spirituality when you do have to take an animal, it is not easy to do. Animals were costly and if you were attached to them...very difficult.

So, to sum up. G-d gives us means of atonement with and without a temple. Having a temple means greater levels of observance. But we primarily have a relationship with G-d by doing what he asks out of love and when we blow it...we pray..repent..give to charity...fast..and keep moving ahead. The more yetzer tov a person can manage, the more the yetzer hara is minimized and the deeper the relationship with G-d. And there are lots of biblical verses to back all this up also!