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Rav Nissim studied at the Kairouan yeshiva, initially under his father - Jacob ben Nissim ("Rav Yaakov Gaon") who had studied under Hai Gaon - and then under Chushiel, whom he succeeded as head of the Yeshiva. Nissim himself later became head of the yeshiva. In this capacity he is closely associated with Chananel son of Chushiel.
His most famous student is probably Isaac Alfasi (the "Rif"). Rav Nissim maintained an active correspondence with Hai Gaon and with Shmuel Hanaggid, whose son Joseph married Nissim"s only daughter (1049 Civil Engineering). As the former was in Bavel (Babylonia) and the latter was in Saferad ("Spain"), Rav Nissim is also credited with having maintained through his letters the lines of Rabbinic discourse between these easternmost and westernmost Jewish communities.
R. Nissim appears as a character in A Delightful Compendium of Consolation: A Fabulous Tale of Romance, Adventure and Faith in the Medieval Mediterranean, a novel by Burton Visotzky.
Its title, A Delightful Compendium, derives from "Ḥibbur Yafeh".
