The Nature of Sin

Sin is a basic part of man. Man has sinned since the first generation. It is in our nature to defy the authority figure. In Sefer Bereshit, the authority figure is G-d. Although He created us and we were created in the image of G-d, man is just a rebellious child. I am sure that every parent in the history of the world has dealt with some form of rebellion from their children. Since Adam and Chava were the first people, their rebellion came as a bit of a shock. They defied a direct commandment from G-d and were punished for their actions. This can be compared to a teenager who is testing their parent's limits and goes too far. Their child, Kayin, also sins. He did defy the "intuited" moral code that G-d expected man to act on. He killed his brother, which is the natural thing for any jealous sibling to do. I am not saying that it is acceptable (or often done) for a child to "kill" their sibling. When children get angry, they have to take it out on something or someone. At this point, G-d had already dealt with rebellion, so He knew the proper consequences. Obviously, Kayin's descendants didn't get the message. They continued to defy the moral code. Therefore, they were not chosen. Fast forward to the generation of the flood. They were the epitome of immorality. They stole from each other, killed each other, and mated with animals. What creations of G-d would act this way? Therefore, G-d saw fit to destroy them all and start fresh. He chose Noach to continue the human race. He and his family were to multiply, spread out throughout the world, and populate it. At this point, Hashem made a "Brit" with man. G-d recognized that it is in Man's nature to sin. He therefore vowed never to destroy the world again on account of man's behavior. This does not mean, however, that G-d will stop punishing those who sin. It just means that the entire world will not be destroyed because of the sins of a few. Hashem also spelled out the moral code that man kept violating in the 7 מצוות בני נח. These are the rules that parents make for their children to keep them out of trouble. Moving on to Dor Haflaga. This generation came after the flood and was not filled with immorality. Instead of continuing to spread out, this generation decided to stick together and build a city. They also decided that the credit for the greatness of the world should not go to G-d, but to man. It seemed like they wanted to remove G-d from the picture. Therefore, they decided to build a tower "with its head in the heavens" to show that man is equal to G-d. As a punishment, G-d made them all speak different languages. They got so frustrated that they could not understand each other and they spread out. Eventually, G-d's goal for man was (mostly) accomplished: man multiplied and populated the world. Instead of spreading ethical monotheism, the people of Dor Haflaga began/continued to worship idols. This all leads us to the story of Avraham, the first person to recognize the hierarchy completely and believe that Hashem is the one true G-d.