Michelle Bentsman

Michelle studies song as a transformative act. Her dissertation focuses on three cases: Jewish recitations for the dead, Hindu mantras for the dying, and Shipibo medicine songs for healing non-natives. Her methodology emphasizes experience as a bridge between scholarship and practice. Michelle leads pre-burial rituals with a Jewish death society, assists ceremonies and serves on the board of a Shipibo-trained temple, and worked as a spiritual care provider at Ganga Prem Hospice (India) and Massachusetts General Hospital. Michelle holds an MDiv from Harvard Divinity School and a BA from the University of Chicago.