What was the snake's sin? Hazal and the commentators offered a variety of answers to this problem, including among others: the snake incited Chava; he spoke lashon hara; he seduced Chava; and more. The snake's sin is the source of many of the laws of the inciter (mesit), in particular, we do not search for the merit of the inciter, and he is punished without warning. Apparently the difference between the punishment of man and snake points to the preference of man, who was created "in God's image," to the animal kingdom.

Courtesy of the Virtual Beit Midrash, Yeshivat Har Etzion