 At some point, ibn Habib was sent as an emissary to the Jewish community Turkey; however, other than the fact of his dispatch, nothing else is known about this period of his life.When his brother-in-law Rabbi Moshe Galanti died in 1689, ibn Habib was appointed Rishon LeZion and head of the "yeshiva" in his stead.His colleagues on the rabbinical court included the Jerusalemite scholars R. Jacob Molkho, R. Yom Tov Zahalon and R. Yoseph bar Yoseph.