"There is no joy like the resolution of doubts" -  Talmud

 
Some people stride boldly into the future, confident that somehow things will work out. Others don't. But even those that do, have their anxieties and concerns too.
 
Tomorrow holds uncertainties for us all and we have myriad ways of coping with the vulnerability of not knowing what's next. Witness the fact that mankind bought 3.7 trillion dollars worth of insurance premiums in 2006 with more than a quarter of that spent in the United States alone [1]. Uncertainty creates anxiety and that leads to gambling, overeating, and emotional disorders.
 
Insurance is about safety. Binge behaviors are about avoidance. But what people really want is clarity. That's why they consult psychics of every stripe: Crystal ball gazers, palm and tarot card readers, necromancers and ouija board wielders.
 
Over half of Americans believe in psychic powers and over 15% claim they have had psychic experiences. Celebrities, police departments and government officials consult superstar psychics at rates of up to $700 for a 30-minute session.
 
But do they work? Scientists traditionally have frowned on psychic research but nonetheless there have always been a few mavericks that looked into it, usually at the cost of their reputations. British legendary scientist Michael Faraday, for example, was discredited for exploring the paranormal despite his edifying achievements including the discovery of electromagnetism and the invention of the electric motor. Today researchers at Princeton and the Institute of Noetic Sciences have vastly expanded the database of mind over matter studies and there is even a physical basis for nonphysical ways of knowing.
 
Movies like What-the-Bleep-Do-We-Know and The Secret capitalize on everyone's latent powers of consciousness, and bonafide scientists have demonstrated the special clairvoyant and prescient abilities of certain people.
 
But psychic powers are one thing, and prophecy is quite another. While the psychic takes his or her cues from objects or spirits, a bonafide prophet is ostensibly getting his or her messages from the one G-d of each and everything. Obviously a message from the Creator is going to be more secure, true and absolute than a message from creation.
 
Skeptics might argue that believing in prophecy is really no better than believing in psychics, as both claim other-worldly knowledge and both are untestable. While that may be true of other religions, Judaism protects the public with a quality assurance protocol for prophets. There are rules that govern the prophet and his prophecy just like there are rules that determine the kashrut of a mezuza or a piece of meat.
 
The laws of prophecy are codified by Maimonides [2] and his view is authoritative. Moreover it's relevant today as well, as Maimonides does not limit the mitzvah's applicability to certain eras, for example, during Temple times when prophecy was more common. To be a candidate for the position of prophet, one must pass muster as an unwaveringly moral and spiritual person of sterling character. Anything less renders the person ineligible as a credible conveyor of a divine message. If he doesn't walk the walk, no need to obey when he talks the talk.
 
Next we test him on his predictions. He must anticipate unforeseeable events accurately, specifically and repeatedly. Only once he's done that, he is deemed a prophet and whatever he tells us to do, we should heed. No miracles required, just validated claims about the future.
 
But how far is our trust in such a person to go? After all, Judaism is built around trusting G-d, not trusting man. Actually, our reliance on the prophet is not built on his prescience nor on his righteousness. It is built on our confidence that our mitzvah observance, the oral Torah, is every bit as divinely ordained as each word and letter of the written Torah. Thus we trust him because of G-d's command of "to him you shall listen", heeding the words of a prophet.
 
And the trust goes far indeed. We are to build, travel, even wage war, according to a bonafide prophet's dictates. He can even tell us, on a one-off basis, to transgress a Torah command on a temporary basis. This is precisely what occured with Elijah on Mount Carmel. He commanded to build an altar and conduct a sacrifice competition against the idolaters, even though the Temple in Jerusalem was standing and therefore sacrifices elsewhere were strictly forbidden.
 
As radical as the prophet's privileges sound, his risks are yet more intense. For if he is proven to be a false prophet, it's a mitzvah to kill him and burn his books. On the other hand, if he is indeed a kosher prophet and we don't heed his directives, then we are culpable for a major offence. Obviously one needs to know, who is and who is not a true prophet according to Torah law.

[1] stats courtesy of the Insurance Information Institute.
[2] Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Torah Fundamentals, Ch.7-10