R. Jacob ben Solomon Ibn Habib (?1445–1515/16), was born in Zamora in Castile, Spain, where he is said to have been a pupil of R. Samuel Valency, and was one of the renowned scholars of Castile, heading a yeshivah in Salamanca which was one of the largest in Spain. On the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 he went to Portugal and before 1501 proceeded to Salonika where he became one of the leading scholars. First he taught in the Calabrian (native) community, and later was appointed rabbi of the Gerush community (of Spanish exiles), a position which he held until his death. His name appears among the first signatories on the early regulations of Salonika. He was personally responsible for some of these regulations, which would even seem to have been formulated by him. He also conducted a yeshivah in Salonika. His contemporaries and successors spoke of him in terms of the highest esteem and referred to him as gedol ha-dor ("the greatest of the generation"), mofet ha-dor ("the wonder of the generation"), and ha-ga'on.

השער ומעבר לו (הסכמות, דברי המדפיס והמגיה) זהים בשני החלקים. מאמרי הירושלמי השייכים לחלק א נדפסו בראש חלק ב.