Old Testament

I'm trying to read through the Bible in a year. So far, I'm only a couple days behind schedule, plodding along through all the laws and whatnot. When I don't feel bored to tears (well, usually more like bored to sleep), I'm wondering why there are so many required festivals and regular sacrifices and laws. I know (in theory) they were supposed to keep the Israelites holy and set apart for God (and clean and sanitary). But seriously, why were women "unclean" longer after having a daughter than after having a son? And how awful must it have been to be a priest - being covered in blood and sweat all day from slaughtering animals, sprinkling their blood, and holding them over an open fire? And what did the female Levites eat, since their men were supposed to survive off the food sacrificed at the altar? Anyway, if anyone knows a really cool Old Testament scholar that lives in the DFW area, hook me up so I can probe his brain!