wa alykum as-Salaam warahmatulahi wabarakatuh.
masha Allaah some really good questions.
the kalimah shahadat is in many forms, so the same way you have written above;
"Ash-hadu an Lailaha ill Allaahu wah-da'u la sharika, lahu wa ash-hadu ana Muhammadan, abduhu wa Rasooluhu."
"i bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and Muhammad (sal Allaahu alayhi waSalam) is the messenger of Allaah (subhanahu wa ta'aala)"
you can also say "La illaha ill Allah" which means 'there is no god but Allaah" Almighty. (subhanahu wa ta'aala) because;
Narrated AbuDharr:
Some of the people from among the companions of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said to him: Messenger of Allah (sal Allaahu alayhi waSalam), the rich have taken away (all the) reward.
They observe prayer as we do, they keep the fasts as we keep them, and they give sadaqah from their surplus riches. Upon this he (the Holy Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi waSalam) said:
Has Allah not prescribed for you (a course) by following which you can (also) do sadaqah? In every declaration of the glorification of Allah (i.e. saying SubhanAllah) there is a sadaqah, every Takbir (i.e. saying AllahuAkbar) is a sadaqah, every praise of Him (saying Alhamdulillah) is a sadaqah,
every declaration that He is One (La ilaha illallah) is sadaqah, enjoining of good is a sadaqah, forbidding of that which is evil is a Sadaqah, and in man's sexual intercourse (with his wife) there is a Sadaqah. They (the companions) said: Messenger of Allah (sal Allaahu alayhi waSalam), is there reward for him who satisfies his sexual passion among us? He said: Tell me, if he were to devote it to something forbidden, would it not be a sin on his part? Similarly, if he were to devote it to something lawful, he should have a reward.
(Sahih Muslim: Book 5, Number 2198.)
[sadaqah - means "charitable giving"]
so from the above hadith (saying/act of our beloved Prophet Muhammad sal Allaahu alayhi waSalam.) it shows that saying "La illaha ill Allah" (there is no god but Allaah" Almighty. (subhanahu wa ta'aala) is sadaqah, so therefore the kalamah shahadat is sadaqah too, so you will get rewarded for it more insha Allaah, the more you recite it.
Regarding your second question. Yes our beloved Prophet Muhammad sal Allaahu alayhi waSalam did use the miswak for wudhu, it is mentioned in the following hadith:
"Verily, the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) would use the Miswaak before making Wudhu (ablutions) whenever he arose from sleep, whether it be during the night or during the day."
(ABU DAWOOD)
you can see more info. about the miswak off the following link insha Allaah, and how important it is in islam:
http://www.islam.tc/Miswaak/
wa Allaahu a'lam. (and Allaah Almighty knows best.)
if you need to ask any other questions, please do ask. jazak Allaah khayr.
wa Salaam o 'alykum warahmatulahi wabarakatuh.