"Ben Hei Hei says: The reward is proportional to the exertion."

In light of this, a deep question arises: The eternal delight that HaShem grants in Gan Eden is commensurate with our deeds. Yet, the level of Torah, good deeds, and purity of character traits of the earlier generations far exceeds our level.  If so, it would seem that our share in the World to Come will be far less than the share received by the righteous people who preceded us.

However, our deeds are less qualitative than the earlier generations not because of our deficiency but rather because we are plagued with far more spiritual deterrents. Although we are on a lower rung of the ladder than our ancestors, nevertheless, our dedication might be just as great.

Accordingly, the Mishneh teaches: "The reward is proportional to the effort." Yes, there is a great difference between our holy Patriarchs and us. Nevertheless, HaShem in his great compassion, does not judge us according to our accomplishments but rather according to our devotion.

HaShem takes into consideration the context of our lives and computes our reward correspondingly. He sees the great environmental difficulties that interfere with our desire to fulfill the Torah.  Therefore, a person from the later generations, who knows far less than the earlier Sages, is allotted the same opportunity of reward of our saintly ancestors. May we be encouraged by the Mitzvoth that we do perform, knowing that HaShem values them as if they were done by the greatest of our Sages. (Based on the commentary of the Chidah to Pirkei Avos)   

 TODAY:  When you do a Mitzvah remember that HaShem values your effort as if you performed the highest Mitzvah