Divine Right of Kings
The story of Joan of Arc seems to support this idea. To me at least it seems that Joan of Arc was a legitimate saint and her mission was to crown Charles VII over all France. That seems clear to indicate that there is such a thing as Divine appointment to rule.
France at the time had a king--the King of England but from what we can tell is that he had no right from heaven to rule France.
This seems to have support from the תנ''ך (Old Testament) also. But in the Old Testament the right to rule needs to be confirmed by either a prophet or (when there is no prophet) the Sanhedrin. In any case in the Old Testament there is no concept of the right of the people to choose their leader. [As was pointed out to be by Yehoshua (an acquaintance and one time room-mate at the Mir yeshiva).]
This does not mean Democracy is invalid. We know from דינא דמלכותא דינא (the law of the country is valid) that once any kind of government is established whose coin is accepted- that is a legitimate government; and its rules are binding according to Jewish Law [except in cases which contradict the Torah directly].
This fact was made clear in the Gemara itself. See חזקת הבתים in Bava Batra.
An modern example is the State of Israel for that Reb Moshe Feinstein and Reb Aaron Kotler both said דינא דמלכותא דינא (The law of the State is the law). [How far this extends is a debate between Rishonim as far as I remember. Certainly the Rambam takes this very far beyond דיני ממונות law about money.
The story of Joan of Arc seems to support this idea. To me at least it seems that Joan of Arc was a legitimate saint and her mission was to crown Charles VII over all France. That seems clear to indicate that there is such a thing as Divine appointment to rule.
France at the time had a king--the King of England but from what we can tell is that he had no right from heaven to rule France.
This seems to have support from the תנ''ך (Old Testament) also. But in the Old Testament the right to rule needs to be confirmed by either a prophet or (when there is no prophet) the Sanhedrin. In any case in the Old Testament there is no concept of the right of the people to choose their leader. [As was pointed out to be by Yehoshua (an acquaintance and one time room-mate at the Mir yeshiva).]
This does not mean Democracy is invalid. We know from דינא דמלכותא דינא (the law of the country is valid) that once any kind of government is established whose coin is accepted- that is a legitimate government; and its rules are binding according to Jewish Law [except in cases which contradict the Torah directly].
This fact was made clear in the Gemara itself. See חזקת הבתים in Bava Batra.
An modern example is the State of Israel for that Reb Moshe Feinstein and Reb Aaron Kotler both said דינא דמלכותא דינא (The law of the State is the law). [How far this extends is a debate between Rishonim as far as I remember. Certainly the Rambam takes this very far beyond דיני ממונות law about money.
