Thanks for the reply.  Isn't Mt. 23 a condemnation of hypocrisy?  I do not see a condemnation of temple ritual there, per se.   I admit I am not certain which parts of Mt. 23 refer actually to temple ritual - - the tithing of mint, cumin, etc.?  Maybe cleansing the outside of the cup and plate?  I thought those were moreso the Mosaic law, rather than something performed specifically at temple.

Taken in combination with Jesus' direction to 'practice and observe whatever they tell you' (RSV CE) by virtue of their authority from sitting in Moses' seat (23:3), it seems to me that there should be genuine, for lack of a better term, ritual (liturgy?) and no hypocrisy; put another way, following the Law should come from love of God, not from obligation, or from a vain desire to be seen as holy, or any of the other misdeeds that Christ mentions in the chapter.