What the Rav said:
The fact that I sit and learn on erev Shabbat, its only because Hashem gave me the merit that my wife is able to prepare for Shabbat by herself, or that the kids are old enough to help out.
But, others right now are running to prepare for Shabbat, and their actions are greater than all my learning.
[When starting to learn] I say “for the sake of all Am Yisrael”, so that my mitzvah will be encompass all Am Yisrael and will light up all of Am Yisrael. And I request a portion in all the mitzvahs of Am Yisrael.
I want a portion in all the running and all the effort that everyone is making for Shabbat.
And by doing so, a person raises himself higher and higher and from level to level.
My thoughts:
No one knows the value of a mitzvah (at least I don’t).
A lot of our mitzvot go unnoticed, including by us.
Some mitzvot are obvious, like learning Torah or giving tzedakah (charity).
But, probably, far more often, we’re involved in mitzvot and we don’t even realise it.
Doing the shopping, cleaning the dishes, picking up the kids from school.
Countless mitzvot which are of untold greatness, and perhaps more so than the obvious mitzvot!