“THE PROPHECY I BROADCASTED CAME TRUE!”

Shabtai Bibi was on Kol Yisroel for decades, first as a technician and then in an impressive series of positions until he became manager of Moreshet which broadcasts religious programming. * He first became acquainted with Chabad on the Beirut-Damascus highway in the Lebanon War where he met Chabad Tankistin and conducted his first broadcast. * In this interview with Beis Moshiach, Bibi tells of his special relationship with Chabad over the years

CHABAD 2 HERE

Shabtai Bibi, a man of average height, simply dressed, wears a knitted yarmulke and is a straight talker. He welcomed me at the entrance to the central broadcasting network in Yerushalayim.

When we sat down and began to talk about the early days, he showed me an unusual item from his archives.

“This is a recording of a live report that I had from a Chabad tank operating in the Lebanon War in the middle of a Katyusha attack. I was sent as a technician for Kol Yisroel but I also ended up broadcasting segments from the front lines with a religious slant to them.”

Bibi put the cassette into the machine and I heard the following:

“Chabad 2 here. Chabad 2 here. We are on the Damascus-Beirut highway. We are approaching the roadblock and are planning to turn around.”

(Bibi): “We are on the Beirut-Damascus highway. I landed here in the middle of a heavy artillery attack when terrorists in west Beirut shelled our forces and spit forth fire and barrages of Katyushas. Among the military vehicles and the dusty tanks of our forces I found a colorful tank, a Chabad tank, which infused bitachon in our forces at the height of the shelling.”

(Tankist): “My name is Yedidya and I’m from Kfar Chabad. I volunteered to go in this tank. You will surely want to know what this tank is for and when we began with the tanks. The truth is that I am not a real tank operator. I’m an engineer, but I’m still on a tank. This tank is a sort of caravan equipped with sifrei kodesh, Jewish items, t’fillin and mezuzos. In the back is a special area for shiurim in the event that we want to have a spontaneous shiur.

“We have everything we need so we can live a long time on the tank. The idea to call it a tank comes from the Rebbe himself. The Rebbe said that in order to conquer a desert you need a vehicle which is mobile in the desert. There are four tanks like this one in Eretz Yisroel. Our headquarters are in Natzrat Ilit and our director is R’ Dovid Nachshon who brings the tanks to this country and finances and plans all of these wonderful activities.

“We work on a voluntary basis which makes things easier.”

(Bibi): “I see that in your tank there is an office where you write duchot (reports). Can you explain that?”

(Yedidya): “Yes, the Rebbe initiated all this and he is the one who urges us to do these activities. Just like the general needs to know what is going on in the field, the Rebbe needs to know what is going in his army. Every week we send the Rebbe a report of all of our activities, as much as we can write. The main thing we write to the Rebbe is that the soldiers that we meet want to know why the Rebbe does not come here. The Rebbe has his reasons and he knows where he needs to be, but we ask him: Come here, bring Moshiach here, and we won’t need to suffer these wars and tribulations.”

(A Tankist asks a passing soldier): “Do you want to put on t’fillin?”

“Yes.”

“Say the bracha.”

The soldier says the bracha and Shma.

“Chabad 2 here. Chabad 4 where are you exactly?”

Chabad 4: “I am at the forward-most position near Beirut. We are putting t’fillin on with the guys and registering them for a letter in a Torah. They are happy, we are providing vodka, and it’s lively here.”

Chabad 2: “How did the guys receive you, nicely or were there problems?”

Chabad 4: “They were happy and really amazed that we came here, especially now in the middle of shelling. Oh, one just landed right near us. A mortar fell fifteen meters away. Boruch Hashem, miraculously nothing happened.”

(Bibi): “What’s your name, soldier?”

“Motti Gotzel.”

“What are you doing on a Chabad tank?”

“I put on t’fillin this morning and I see that it helps. We are in the area that is being shelled. There is a lot of shelling here (as we spoke we could hear shells exploding). I put on t’fillin and believe in it.”

“Yashar ko’ach, and tizkeh l’mitzvot.”

(Bibi): “Hey soldier, what’s your name?”

“Yossi Karadi from Moshav Ezrikam.”

“Yossi, what are you doing on a Chabad tank?”

“I put on t’fillin and believe with complete faith that everything we are doing is a mitzva.”

“What makes you put on t’fillin davka here near Beirut?”

“The truth is that it’s good they came here. They helped us a lot and we believe in this.”

Chabad 2: “Chabad 4 do you hear? Have you done your activities at your posts?”

Chabad 4: “Boruch Hashem, we finished everything. Okay, continue on here, see you.”

Chabad 2: “Kol tuv, see you.”

The broadcast from Beirut ended and we returned to Bibi’s office. He began telling me about his special connection with Chabad.

PUTTING ON T’FILLIN UNDER FIRE

“That encounter was my first connection with Chabad. It began in Beirut when I went there as a technician for Kol Yisroel. We had a radio station there from where we broadcast segments with updates about the war. I was also involved in doing some light editing for the program that broadcast regards from soldiers stationed at the front line.

“Then, during the war, I saw Chabad’s work from up close as it took place on various fronts with the soldiers. The Chabadnikim came with their tanks, dressed in civilian clothes. I felt great admiration for them. I thought, they are coming here of their own volition despite the danger. I watched the reactions of the soldiers and most of them were pleased that they came. 

“One time, one of the radio managers came. One of the Chabadnikim asked him to put on t’fillin and he responded scornfully, ‘Bug off with that nonsense.’

“A moment later a massive Katyusha attack began. It was terrifying. Missiles landed in all directions and we lay on the ground and prayed for a miracle. The radio manager also lay there with his hands over his head, waiting for a lull.

“When the barrage stopped, he got up, immediately went over to the Chabadnikim and said, ‘Where are the t’fillin?’ Short and to the point.

During the war, I was asked by Avrohom Doron, then the editor in the religious section of Reshet Beit, to send him a piece describing Chabad’s activities on the front. I prepared a nice segment and the response was tremendous. 

Apparently, his work was properly appreciated at Kol Yisroel.

MORE OF A BOND

The appreciation for Shabtai Bibi’s work was not merely expressed in the form of praise. He eventually became the editor and broadcaster in the religious department of Reshet Beit. He had become known because of his popular program of Chassidic music. Back then, there was no Arutz Sheva and no other religious channels, so it was the most popular program in the religious sector. His program had listeners not only in Eretz Yisroel but in other countries too.

“Something that moved me during this point in my career was two letters that I received from behind the Iron Curtain from two young men who said how special it makes them feel when they listen to this radio program with songs from verses from Tanach and maamarei Chazal.”

Bibi’s connection with Chabad became stronger over the years. As a journalist, he attended Yud-Tes Kislev farbrengens that took place in Kfar Chabad and in the Tzemach Tzedek shul in the Old City of Yerushalayim. R’ Adin Even-Yisroel (Steinsaltz) gave shiurim in Chassidus back then on the radio and during the taping sessions he met with R’ Steinsaltz a number of times.

During holidays, Bibi was impressed by Chabad’s work among the people at the broadcasting network. “Chabad, led by R’ Berke Wolf, would come to the broadcasting building in Yerushalayim every Chanuka, and light the menorah in every room and office. For Purim they gave out mishloach manos, for Pesach they gave out matza, etc. This outreach work made a tremendous impression on me. They came and with a smile helped everyone feel the joy of the holiday.”

THE REBBE’S PROPHECY CAME TRUE

After getting to know Chabad, Bibi decided to dedicate a special program to Chabad’s work in the Soviet Union before the fall of communism. In this program, activists who had helped spread Torah and Judaism among Soviet Jewry told about their work.

“After the green light from the radio management, I asked four Chassidim who had worked behind the Iron Curtain to come on the show. They said they needed the Rebbe’s approval first. I took the opportunity to ask for a bracha for my mother who was sick. A short while later I received a bracha for both requests.”

Bibi gave me the opening script for the show:

“In the Soviet Union of 5744 there are signs of Jewish revival. Thousands of Jews who were disconnected from Judaism and were assimilated among the gentiles suddenly are discovering their Judaism. Lately, Jewish life in Russia is beginning to revive more and more. Jewish items are brought into the Soviet Union, things like: Siddurim, Chumashim, mezuzos, talleisim, and even a Shas and sifrei poskim. A lulav and esrog, wine for Kiddush, and matzos for Pesach also arrive for Soviet Jews.

“If the t’shuva movement worldwide is growing, in the Soviet Union it is that much more significant. Among the returnees to Judaism are those who never got a taste of it previously, since they were not given the opportunity and knew nothing about it.

“The ones leading this movement are Chabad who are doing amazing work in Russia under the Rebbe’s orders and with great personal sacrifice. So we’ve invited to the studio four people from Chabad who came from the Soviet Union and coordinate the activities there. They are Professor Yirmiyahu Branover, R’ Notke Berkahan, R’ Betzalel Shiff, and R’ Shaya Gisser.”

Bibi: “The first speaker was Prof Branover. When I listened to what he had to say, I was shocked. He said that the Rebbe recently told him to build a neighborhood in Yerushalayim for scientists who will immigrate here soon from the Soviet Union.

“As he spoke, I was reminded that a few weeks earlier I had heard harsh words from a senior Intelligence person in the US, an expert on Soviet matters. She assessed the situation in the Soviet Union as one that would get worse, and now I was hearing Prof Branover repeat what the Rebbe said that soon the Soviet Union would crumble and the Jews would make aliya.

“When he finished speaking, I couldn’t restrain myself and I said, ‘The Rebbe said to build a neighborhood for Russian scientists but everything is closed. There is no aliya at all. What are you talking about!? But he calmly repeated the prophecy.

“He said it so matter-of-factly and that is why I found myself suddenly accepting it. I believed in the Rebbe. I knew that he had special abilities. I am not a Chassid and so my nature was such that I felt torn between the Rebbe’s prophecy and the assessment of the American expert.

“A few years passed until perestroika began and then a wave of aliya that still hasn’t ended. I told whoever was willing to listen – ‘The Rebbe’s prophecy that I broadcast on Kol Yisroel came true!’”

A BRACHA AT A YUD-TES KISLEV FARBRENGEN

From his job as editor in the religious department of Reshet Beit, Shabtai Bibi switched to a position as editor for the religious program on Reshet Alef. His popular programs, Kabbalas Shabbat and Melaveh Malka, earned him many listeners from all over the country. Many people who were not religious were inspired by his programs. 

“A resident of a kibbutz in the north of the country once called and asked to watch the Kabbalat Shabbat program. When she arrived I could not conceal my surprise. Why did she have to travel for hours in order to watch how we do the broadcast? In tears, she said that when she heard the program she was reminded of her parents’ home in Poland, ‘I see my mother lighting the Shabbos candles.’”

Although Shabtai Bibi does not affiliate with one group or another (“I’ve gone in the ways of the Torah and halacha without belonging to any group”), and this is how he raised his children, three out of his four sons became Chassidim and one of them belongs to Merkaz HaRav. One of the sons became a Lubavitcher Chassid.

“My son invited me to join the Yud-Tes Kislev farbrengen that took place in his yeshiva in Katamon. Back then, there were intense discussions about my continuing to work for Reshet Alef. At that farbrengen, I met the rosh yeshiva, R’ Tamir Kastiel, for the first time. When I told him that I didn’t know about my future in radio he blessed me that I should ascend higher and higher.

“The bracha which was said at a Chassidishe farbrengen came true and within a few days I was told about a new position as manager of radio Moreshet. It was started for the purpose of broadcasting programs of tradition and religion for the Jewish people.”

Many programs were introduced into the broadcasting lineup including shiurim from well-known rabbanim. One of the programs was on the learning of Chassidus and given by R’ Tamir Kastel.