The Fragrance of Heaven

The Tzaddik, Rabbi David of Lelov, would, from time to time, travel to visit his teacher, the famed Seer of Lublin. On the way, he would meet up with a friend who lived in a small village. The friend was also a Tzaddik, but very poor. When Rabbi David came, the friend rushed to tell his wife that they had a distinguished guest, and to please make him something to eat. The wife was beside herself. There was nothing in the house but some flour! She rushed outside and gathered some twigs. She lit a small fire in her wood burning stove, put the flour into a pot, adding nothing but water.When Rabbi David returned home, after visiting the Seer, he told his wife that at his friends house, he had eaten the most delicious food he had ever tasted. His wife was surprised. She knew that the friend was poor, and besides, it was not Rabbi David's way to seek physical pleasure. Curious, she went to the village where the friend lived, and asked the friend's wife about what she had prepared for the rabbi. "To tell the truth, i had nothing but some flour. I prayed to G-d that in honor of our distinguished guest, He impart to the flour of the fragrance of the Garden of Eden. I kept praying those words, until the dish was done. It seems that G-d answered my prayer!"
When we are doing something for our fellow man, or even more so for G-d, it matters not so much WHAT we do, as our intent and sincerity. The rabbis of the Talmud point out that the Torah, in one of the sacrifices, the rich man brings a bull, the average person brings a bird, and the poor man brings some flour. Of all of them the Torah says "A sweet fragrance to the L-rd". They conclude "It matters little if one gives a small gift or a large one, as long as his heart is directed to Heaven".