"It may be said that for God to develop the photographic film of the world, He had to create a dark room.
And one needs a limited source of light, controlled and restricted, in order to function.
Once the desired effect is achieved, the windows can be opened.
That is, the development of the world requires darkness, the hiddenness of space and the obscuration of God Himself.
Indeed Divine revelation would most likely consume all of existence.
Reality as we know it would cease to be.
Thus, it is written, the prophet can hear the song of the celestial beings but he cannot see anything.
As it was said to Moses, “For no man shall look upon Me and live.”
There is this limit beyond which all is made meaningless, burnt out and extinguished.
As it is hinted in several sources in the Scriptural text, any trespass of the permitted range of sanctity is a matter of utmost peril."
--Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
From “The Way of the Soul and Torah: Essence and Structure,” pp. 86-87 in The Candle of God by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
