And you shall eat and be sated. (Deut. 8:10)
The Maggid of Mezritch once asked a wealthy man what he eats every day. "Bread and salt, Rebbe, like a poor man," was his reply.
The Maggid rebuked him and told him to eat meat and drink wine every day as wealthy men were accustomed to do. Later, when the Maggid's disciples asked for an explanation, he said: "If a rich man eats meat and drinks wine every day, then he will realize that a poor person needs at least bread and salt. If, however, he eats bread and salt, he will think that his poor neighbor can make do with stones!"
And to serve Him with all your heart (Deut. 11:13)
Rashi explains that this verse refers to the service of the heart, namely prayer. Reb Yisroel of Ruzhin used to take a long time over his prayers; Reb Shalom of Belz would recite his prayers hastily. On this, one of their contemporaries commented that both of them cherished every word of the prayers: the former loved them so much that he could not bring himself to part with them, while the latter--for the same reason--could not restrain his eagerness to make them his. (A Treasury of Chasidic Tales)
And now Israel, what does G-d ask from you but to fear G-d and to follow in all His ways, to love Him and serve Him with all your heart and all your soul. (Deut. 10:12)
The Talmud asks, "Is then reverence such a small matter?" and answers, "For Moses it is a small matter."
Rabbi Shneur Zalman, the first Chabad Rebbe, commented, "The Torah speaks here to every Jew. How is this an answer for everyone? Every Jew, whoever he may be, contains a spark of Moses. This gives every Jew the strength to attain awe of G-d."
