QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "'The seventh month' is Sivan, counting from Kislev, when the rain stopped." Perhaps it means Iyar, the seventh month from when the rain began?
Gur Aryeh: The waters "persisted" and did not recede at all until 1 Sivan (Rashi to 8:3); therefore, the Ark could not have run aground in Iyar.
Rashi writes: The waters receded 15 Amos in 60 days, at the rate of one Amah every four days, until the mountaintops became visible on 1 Av. How, at that rate, did the water dry up entirely only 60 days later on 1 Tishrei? Surely there were mountains taller than 15 Amos!
Gur Aryeh #1: The rate at which the waters receded was not constant. At the beginning the waters receded slowly; as time went on, the rate of evaporation accelerated. 1
Gur Aryeh #2: As long as the mountaintops remained covered, the water evaporated at a constant rate. Once dry land was exposed, and the water covered less space, the water evaporated and receded much faster. 2
Gur Aryeh notes that according to this approach, the waters might have receded only 1 Amah by 17 Sivan, which would mean that the Ark was submerged 14 Amos into the water. Chazal meant that it was submerged at least 11 Amos.
