Mitzvah Day Blood Drive Dedicated to the Memory of Herb Tanenbaum

September 30, 2026 in Scroll

By Jon Simon

Imagine what it must feel like to save one life with just one hour of your time. Now, picture yourself saving or extending the lives of three people at one time, simply by rolling up your sleeves and donating blood on Mitzvah Day, Sunday, October 25. That’s how many lives are affected, on average, from just ONE individual’s blood donation.

Beth El’s upcoming Mitzvah Day Blood Drive is not only the perfect opportunity to perform a life-saving mitzvah. It’s also a wonderful time to enjoy the delicious bagels, cream cheese, and lox along with other tasty snacks and refreshments enjoyed by donors…not to mention a free gift from Inova Blood Services.

What’s more, this life-saving Mitzvah Day Blood Drive will be dedicated to the memory of long-time congregant and pioneer cardiologist Dr. Herb Tanenbaum z”l, who passed away at the age of 98 this past August. Therefore, your selfless and generous blood donation on October 25 will also help recognize, honor, and remember an outstanding physician and longtime Beth El member. And it will mean the world to his family.

For those of you who never met Herb, he was a remarkable man who not only dedicated his life to serving his fellow man, but he was also a pioneer in his field of cardiology. Aside from being one of the most renowned cardiologists in the country at the time, he helped establish Washington, D.C.’s first cardiac catheterization lab. He also graduated at the top of his class from Georgetown Medical School after being turned away from many schools because of Jewish quotas at the time.

But if you had met him at Beth El, you’d never know it. That’s because Herb was a very unassuming and modest man, a down-to-earth guy who never forgot where he came from, including his strong Jewish roots. He grew up in D.C., living above his family’s small grocery store, delivering groceries, learning the business, as well as Yiddish, from his parents.

Herb loved Beth El and enjoyed many family simchas at Beth El, including the b’nai mitzvah of his five sons. His late wife, Elaine, was the first woman to receive an aliyah at Beth El – an event which broke with tradition at the time.

Herb continued to be active in the synagogue, even into his mid-to-late 90s. Until recently, he was a regular participant in the Shabbat Torah study group. His modesty and kindness can be easily summed up by the words of one of his sons, Steven Tanenbaum, who remarked that “he was one of the sweetest, easygoing men you ever wanted to meet.” That’s just one of the many reasons why Jack Ventura, Beth El’s lead blood drive coordinator, is so pleased to be dedicating this drive to honor Herb Tanenbaum’s memory. “Like Herb Tanenbaum, what better way to show you really care,” said Jack, “than to give the gift of life to someone else who needs it to live.”