There seems to be a difficulty with Rashi’s explanation in this week’s parsha (Chaye Sara). Rashi explains that Sara Imeinu passed away at the time of the Akeda. The problem is that Hevron is on the road from Yerushalayim to Be’er Sheva. In those days travelers did not usually bypass towns. Avraham Avinu should have passed through Hevron on the way in which case he would have known that Sara was there. If Sara was still alive at the time, is it possible to say that Avraham passed through town without stopping to see Sara? This is difficult especially since Rashi also tells us that at the time of the Akeda he was living in Hebron. Or must we say that he saw her without telling her about the Akeda? It is difficult to say that Sara had already passed away. They were well known and important people.

There is opinion among the commentaries that when Sarah heard about the trip of Avraham and Yitzchak to Mount Moriah, she left Beersheva to follow them there. When she reached Chevron she was told about the akeidah and died of the trauma in Chevron. Thanks for writing. Rabbi Berel Wein