Halichoth Olam [Methodology of the Talmud]

In the introduction, the author, R. Yeshu’ah Halevi, a native of Tlemcen (presently Algeria) bemoans his fate. Forced by persecution to leave his native land in 1467, he arrived in Toledo (Castille). There he made the acquaintance of Don Vidal ibn Lavi. The latter gentleman commisioned the present work to explicate “darkhei ha-gemara” (“the ways of the Talmud”). The author goes on to express his gratitude to his teacher R. Jacob Hakohen Ashkenazi, and his indebtedness to the earlier work in the field by R. Samson of Chinon, Sepher ha-Kerituth, et al. Interestingly, the book enjoyed popularity among non-Jewish scholars, going through several Latin editions. See JE, Vol. XII, pp. 600-601.