Beth El Mourns the Passing of Longtime Congregant Herb Tanenbaum, Native Washingtonian and Pioneer in Cardiology

September 30, 2026 in Scroll

By Jon Simon

“A remarkable man,” an “exceptional cardiologist and pioneer,” a “warm, kind, and caring man,” a “devoted husband and father,” and a “proud Jew” – those are just some of the words people have used to describe Herb Tanenbaum, a long-time Beth El member who passed away this past August at the age of 98.

Herb was a true native of the area. Born to Samuel and Tessie Tanenbaum in 1927, Herb Louis Tanenbaum was the youngest of four children. He lived with his family in an apartment above their small corner grocery store, located at First and Thomas Streets, NW.

In those days, a “mom and pop” market such as theirs was characteristic of the times when a family’s daily life and livelihood were closely intertwined. It was a time when horse-drawn buggies were used to deliver ice and even watermelons throughout the neighborhoods.

At an early age, Herb began helping in the family store by delivering groceries. He also helped prepare chickens for sale. While he was learning the business from his parents, he was also learning something else from them that would stay with him for the rest of his life: Yiddish. Herb loved using Yiddish with friends and colleagues, and it was common for him to sprinkle a few phrases here and there to spice up and add some humor to his conversations.

He was an outstanding student who realized early on that he wanted to practice medicine. However, excellent grades mattered little in those days for a Jewish student applying to medical school. Institutions of higher education enforced a strict “quota system” that severely limited Jewish admissions. Thus, despite his excellent academic record, Herb faced rejection after rejection from numerous schools. Finally, after a professor advocated on his behalf, he was accepted into Georgetown Medical School as the very last student in his class. Georgetown never could have predicted that Herb Tanenbaum would go on to graduate as the valedictorian of the Georgetown University School of Medicine class of 1952!

After his internship and residency training, Herb was offered a position at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1955. It was around this time that the field of cardiology was just emerging as a specialty. Interestingly, Herb almost went into nephrology because that’s what he had originally planned to do. However, the research laboratory where he worked at NIH used chickens. The nasty smell reminded him vividly of slaughtering chickens at his parents’ grocery store. So, according to his son, Mark Tanenbaum, he walked down the hall and found the cardiology department. “He was one chicken away from becoming a nephrologist,” he joked.

In 1958, Herb chose clinical practice over academic offers so he could remain in Washington and raise a family. That same year, he married Elaine Bresler. He was hired as a diagnostician and later served as an assistant professor of medicine at Georgetown – the same institution that had nearly rejected him as a medical student. It was there that he became known as an exceptional diagnostician. According to his son, Mark, “If somebody couldn’t figure something out, they would often contact my father.” Herb went on to become one of the most renowned cardiologists in the D.C. area, and a pioneer in heart catheterizations – having performed, according to Mark, the first cardiac catheterization in Washington. Mark also commented that Herb and his colleagues helped establish research foundations that influenced generations.

There are probably hundreds of remarkable and even funny stories about Herb. Steven Tanenbaum, another of Herb’s five sons, recalled a patient who could not afford his father’s fee and instead paid Herb with fresh chickens and eggs! Patients and friends remembered something else about Herb – his warmth, his caring, his humor and his down-to-earth attitude.

Outside of medicine, Herb loved jazz, gardening, fishing and being active at Beth El, where he served on the Board for many years, up to a few years ago. He also loved Washington sports, especially the Washington Redskins. Whenever he drove around the area or pulled into the Beth El parking lot, one knew right away that was Herb’s car because you could easily spot the two “Washington Redskins” flags – one flying on either side of his car!

He remained curious long after retiring from practice in 1994 and regularly attended medical conferences. When asked about their father, his sons remarked that he valued education, family, and especially Judaism and his Jewish heritage, of which he was extremely proud. Mark recalls his father telling him and his bothers that it did not matter whether they became a garbage collector or president of the United States. “Whatever you choose,” he told us, “you should strive to be the best at it.”

Mark said, “What I will miss most is my father’s storytelling – even the stories the family had heard countless times.“ He told it as if it was the very first time anybody would hear it,” Mark said. “And at the end of the story, he would laugh because he enjoyed his stories himself.”

Herb was also an author, having published a book about his medical practice. Titled Out of the Doctor’s Bag, it’s a very insightful, humorous and quick read, with each page recounting a different tale, anecdote, story, or witticism involving one of his patients (without mentioning any names). It can be purchased online at Amazon. It is anticipated that Beth El will keep one or more copies in the Beth El Library.

One could say that Herb Tanenbaum was blessed. He had an outstanding career, a wonderful family with five children and 16 grandchildren, and lived to see another generation of the family he cherished – with eight great-grandchildren. Then, again, one might argue that Herb Tanenbaum was, himself, a blessing – to his family, to his patients, to the field of medicine and cardiology and to all those within and outside the Beth El community whose lives he touched.

Donations in memory of Herb Tanenbaum may be made to the Elaine Tanenbaum Religious School Enrichment Fund at Congregation Beth El or the charity of one’s choice. (Herb’s wife, Elaine, who predeceased him, worked in the religious school for many years.)

This article includes reporting and information drawn from an article by Ellen Braunstein in the Washington Jewish Week, titled Dr. Herbert Tanenbaum, Pioneer in Washington Cardiology, Dies at 98 and published September 17, 2026. Ms. Braunstein has given her permission to incorporate aspects of her article as a source for the Beth El Scroll.