Some questions about the essentials of the Jewish faith from an outsider :D

Hello all! Sorry to be a bother, and hopefully you are having a pleasant day. I am not Jewish, but my father was (he didn’t practice), and of late I’ve been curious about Jewish tradition, culture, and theology.

I generally had an idea of what I thought Jews believed, but of late I’ve been exposed to some Jewish traditions/expressions that have challenged that view. I have a million questions, but for the sake of brevity I’ll reduce them to a few main categories 🙂

1. The Jewish Conception of God: It is my understanding that Judaism is a monotheistic religion, believing in a creator deity, sustainer of all things, who has made a covenant with the Jewish people. However, I have heard some Jews, especially of the Reform variety, describe God in a much more pantheistic sense, i.e. God is present in all things, as he is the very fabric of being itself, rather than something above/separate from it. I’m curious which is generally held, if there is a consensus, and where the origin of this disagreement comes from.
2. The ethnocultural element: Of course, Judaism is an ethnocultural faith, but the idea of the “Chosen People” is something I have seen disagreement on. Some sources claim that the covenant makes the Jewish people “different”, but by no means better than anyone else. Others, a minority I’m guessing, seem to view it as giving Jews a higher status than others. How is this status generally viewed in the faith, and why would God only want one ethnocultural group to follow him? I know that traditionally Jews aren’t supposed to encourage conversion, for instance.
3. The Scriptures v.s. Rabbinic interpretation: I’m a tad confused as to the disagreements over the Torah/Jewish law in general. Some Jews seem to view the law as binding and unchanging, with the Law of Moses being the same law for Jews today. Others seem view the law as binding, but also adaptable to rabbinic rulings over time. I’ve even some say that the ethics of Judaism is what truly matters, rather than tradition and ritual. I guess I’m uncertain as to who/what has “authority” in Judaism (save God, of course), and how Jews hash out strong disagreements amongst Rabbis?

Thank you for humoring my questions, and I deeply apologize if I have been ignorant or uneducated in these questions. I hope to learn more, and I would sincerely like to learn more about my family’s past and traditions, even as most of that side of my family has passed on.

Have a wonderful day 🙂