A 13th-Century Enumeration Algorithm, Ignored for 700 Years
An author explores a 13th-century Kabbalistic algorithm for permuting letters, discovered in the writings of Abraham Aboulafia. The article details the mathematical rigor behind the 'Tserouf' method and how it systematically enumerates permutations.
Why it matters
It bridges the gap between ancient spiritual practices and modern mathematical concepts, demonstrating early algorithmic thinking.
This is the first article in a series about a discovery I made while researching Tserouf in the writings of the Kabbalist Abraham Aboulafia (1240 – after 1291). Tserouf is the Kabbalistic art of permuting the letters — and, in plain mathematical terms, it is the enumeration of all the permutations of an n -letter word.
The article is an academic/historical exploration of a mathematical method with no ideological bias.
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