At a Desert Archive, a Nation Hears From Its Founder

As the clear, violet sky fades to black, three long rows of soldiers stand silently at attention. Behind them glow the chalky-white walls of the Valley of Tzin, where Moses led his wandering tribe. Above them snaps the blue-on-white Israeli flag in the desert breeze. Before them stands the gravesite of David Ben-Gurion, founder of the modern state of Israel.

The soldiers hold their weapons straight in front of them, then sing the melancholy strains of "Ha-Tiqva," the Israeli national

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