If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they chasten him, will not listen to them:
The Ohr Hachaim explains the interesting expression איננו שומע – who will not obey. The expected expression is אינו שומע – he did not obey. The Ohr Hachaim explains that the possuk teaches us that when a person crowns his Yetzer Hara as his king, he cannot hear anything that is told to him. He will not learn anything new, and experience will be lost on him. The Yetzer Hara stands at the entrance of his heart and mind, preventing anything from entering. The Yetzer Hara knows that if he allows anything inside, that awakening will banish the Yetzer Hara from his perch, and he will lose his job.
This is similar to a king who has guards who are thieves and gangsters. Whenever someone wishes to complain about their actions, that person is prevented from receiving an audience with the king. The Yetzer Hara does the same thing – not allowing any appropriate thoughts or feelings to take root in the heart.
This possuk is describing a person in the clutches of his Yetzer Hara, who will not listen to his parents’ voices. Not only did he not listen until now, he is unable to listen, his psyche is set up that listening is not compatible with him.
The Torah continues that he does not listen to the voices of his father and his mother. This seems to be out of syntax. The possuk is referring to a person who has a child who does not listen to him, why does the Torah have to repeat that he does not listen to his father – his father is the subject of the possuk in the first place.
The Ohr Hachaim explains that this rebellious child is not merely rebellious to his physical father and mother. He is rebellious to his celestial father and mother too. They are a way of referring to Hashem and Knesses Yisroel. If a parent does not educate their child correctly, they will rebel against them. But that will not be the end of the story. They will also rebel against Hashem and His nation.
The meaning of the possuk is now understood. If a person has a rebellious son, he will not listen to Hashem either.
