I distinctly remember the look on my rebbe’s face when someone in our seventh-grade class suggested that a particular mitzvah wasn’t “as big a mitzvah” as another. Naturally, he then quoted the words of Pirkei Avos and taught us a valuable lesson about the value of each opportunity to fulfill the will of Hashem.
At the same time, certain mitzvot take on special meaning in our lives. There are the three mitzvot that are designated as signs, milah, Shabbos and tefillin, which serve as constant reminders of our unique relationship with Hashem via our bodies, our actions and our thoughts. One can’t help but feel their import when present at a bris or watching someone wrap tefillin for the first time.
There are also those mitzvot that are done in memory of someone who has passed or to fulfill a commitment on behalf of those in need of chizuk. Mitzvot done in that context somehow transcend even their own innate sanctity and strengthen us all on the process.
Indeed, even the “smallest” actions can make a remarkable impact on our fragile world.
