The most effective system of language learning for a given individual can vary a great deal from others. Its a good idea to talk to a number of people about what resources worked for them and try different approaches to find something you like.

Basics:
Pimsleur Hebrew 1-3 (most frequently recommended by MSIH students)
Colloquial Hebrew by Zippi Lyttleton and and Tamar Wang
Modern Hebrew for Beginners by Esther Raizen (excellent workbook plus online video tutorials)
Let's Learn Hebrew Picture Dictionary by Marlene Goodman
Hebrew in 10 minutes a day by Kristine K. Kershul
Modern Hebrew Vocabulary Cards: Academic Study Card Set
www.hebrewpodcasts.com: free mp3 downloads of beginner/intermediate Hebrew audio lessons. You may find other internet sites with free lessons or audio.

Grammar:
501 Hebrew Verbs by Shmuel Bolozky
Learn Hebrew Today: Alef-Bet for Adults by Yedwab and Bogot
Hebrew Reading and Writing Self Taught by Fern Margolis
Hebrew Verb Tables by Asher Tarmon and Ezri Uval
Rosetta Stone

Other
Anglo List's 43 must know slang words
Anki flashcard decks
http://www.hebrew-language.com/ Hebrew language resources] - links to study guides, radio stations, reading material and games

Ulpan
Hebrew Ulpan (Intensive Hebrew Language Study) – available at BGU and throughout the country. We cannot stress enough the immense importance of language in easing the transition to life in Israel. Though Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are relatively English-speaking cities, the immigrant populations of Beer Sheva have lower English fluency.

Hebrew University’s summer ulpan as well as the Ben Gurion one are highly regarded. Please be aware, however, that places fill up fast. If you are interested in participating, make sure to contact them mid-Spring to early summer so you don’t get locked out.

Another option for learning Hebrew is to stay in Israel the summer between first and second year of MSIH and enroll in a full-time Hebrew ulpan then. Several students in the class of 2011 did this and recommend it highly, especially towards improving the student experience on the wards in third year.

Get motivated!
The more Hebrew you can use and understand, the easier your life will be. Keep in mind that you will only get what you put in. You shouldn’t plan to rely on ulpan to be your only means of learning. Depending on your current fluency level, you may need a considerable number of hours of self study to reach a conversational level. This will become extremely important during your clinical rotations when patient doctor interactions are conducted in Hebrew and you want to know what’s going on. Unfortunately, by the same time that the importance of learning Hebrew becomes apparent, it will also be a lower priority than say, learning medicine and preparing for the USMLE. Use your time during orientation and first year to its fullest potential to learn as much Hebrew as you can.

When all else fails
Hebrew websites and e-mails from BGU may seem daunting, but Google Translate is a lifesaver. Translate.google.com will translate many (not all) text, webpages, and PDFs from Hebrew into English. Even more convenient is the Google Chrome web browser, which can detect foreign languages and automatically translate them: http://www.google.com/chrome. You can install the translation add-on for Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.