Highest Bidder, All Winners
The Gemara (Succah 41b) relates the following incident:
It once happened that Rabban Gamliel, R' Yehoshua, R' Elazar ben Azaryah and R’ Akiva were traveling together on a boat [during Succos]. There was only one lulav among them, which belonged to Rabban Gamliel and had been purchased for 1,000 zuz. Rabban Gamliel first fulfilled the mitzvah of waving the lulav, after which he gave it to R' Yehoshua who did the same, who then passed it on to R' Elazar ben Azarayah, and then to R' Akiva who also fulfilled the mitzvah. After that, R' Akiva finally handed it back to Rabban Gamliel, the original owner.
The Gemara continues:
Why must we know that Rabban Gamliel purchased the lulav for 1,000 zuz? To tell us how dear and precious the fulfillment of mitzvos was to all of them.
A simple reading of the closing line of this Gemara, notes the Aruch La’Ner, is puzzling. Why does the Gemara say that Rabban Gamliel's purchase of the Lulav for such a high price demonstrates the endearment of mitzvos to all of the Sages? It should only be said in relation to Rabban Gamliel. He is the one who spent the money and clearly cherished the mitzvah.
The Aruch La’Ner explains that the Gemara means to convey that there was more to the story than may ostensibly seem. In those days, it wasn't easy to come across a lulav and esrog. In this case, all the Sages were bidding for the lulav and so deeply wished to have the opportunity to fulfill the special mitzvah. This one bid 50 zuz, the next one bid 100, then 200 and on and on, until Rabban Gamliel finally outbid everyone and was left with the lulav for 1,000 zuz.
Yet, despite Rabban Gamliel being the highest bidder and thereby entitled to the lulav, all the Sages are said to have endeared mitzvos because such was clearly demonstrated by their desire to obtain the lulav for the greatest price they could afford. The mitzvah was thus precious to all the Sages, as the Gemara precisely states, for such was the truth.
The Vilna Gaon once remarked, “If the reward for doing mitzvos was to go to Gehinnom [purgatory] and the reward for doing sins was to go to Gan Eden, I would still choose to do mitzvos.” The value and preciousness of a mitzvah, independent and inconsequential of its reward, is so ever dear.
On one occasion, the son-in-law of the Imrei Chaim mentioned that he needed to immediately travel to Klausenberg to attend to his uncle, the Vizhiner Rebbe. And so, without delay, the Imrei Chaim and his son-in-law set out to the nearest bus stop to make their way to the hospital.
But, after arriving at the bus stop, the son-in-law said that it might be better to simply walk to the hospital, which was only two stops away. The Imrei Chaim countered otherwise though. “For a mitzvah, a person must be willing to pay. We will wait for the bus and pay our way there.”
Soon enough, the bus arrived and the two of them stepped on. Yet only one stop in, the Imrei Chaim motioned to his son-in-law to get off the bus. “But why?” asked the son-in-law. “We have one more stop until the hospital!” “For a mitzvah,” replied the Imrei Chaim, “a person must be willing to exert themselves and put in the physical effort to do all that he can.”
Every mitzvah, whether it be between man and Hashem or man and man, is so dear. Love them, cherish them and value them. There is nothing greater. (Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser)