By JENNIFER WEIL
THE JOURNAL NEWS
   (Original Publication: February 3, 2006

Rachel Perl's shopping cart was almost full by the time she and her 16-month-old daughter, After selecting a couple of cartons of orange juice and milk, the 34-year-old mother rearranged her groceries so the newest items could fit in the cart before she walked toward aisle 16.

"It's a fabulous place to shop," the Monsey mother said. "They have a variety of items, it's very convenient and they have great service."

The Rockland Kosher Supermarket, which is in The Shoppers Haven, a two-story mall just off Main Street, seems to have made an impression, not only on Perl, but also on many of the residents in the largely Orthodox Jewish and Hasidic hamlet.

Even on a cold rainy afternoon, The Shoppers Haven — technically on a small section of Orchard Street and a center of commerce in the area — was bustling. The parking lot was full of minivans and women navigating their baby strollers off Main Street toward the mall.

Supermarket owner Thomas Klein touted his store as the largest kosher supermarket in the world, with shoppers coming from across the tri-state area to select from the store's thousands of goods.

Cashier Yoel Grosinger, who was scanning groceries at checkout No. 6, joked that the real reason so many people came to the supermarket was to see him.

"They like me," he said, laughing.

North on Main Street are a couple of boarded-up storefronts, including the kosher supermarket's former residence at 34 Main St.

Farther up the road is Le Chocolat, a kosher chocolate store owned by Bruce Serkez.

Serkez, who has been at 41 Main St. for almost eight years, sells 60 types of chocolate confections, including 13 kinds of truffles — pistachio, butterscotch, caramel and triple chocolate — all handmade in the back of his store.

Serkez said he chose his location because he wanted to do business in his community.

Across the street at 46 Main St. is Exclusive Wireless, a shop that sells a variety of cell phones including devices from Cingular, Nextel, Sprint, Primus and T-Mobile. The store also sells beepers and rents cell phones for international travelers.

Vice President Yisroel Kahan and employee Chaim Neiman were assisting customer Ralph Gourdet with his cell phone.

Kahan paused a moment to explain that business on Monsey's main drag had been good, but that he had left much of the store's success in God's hands.

"Every morning when I turn the key in the door, I look up to heaven and I ask God to please send business our way," he said, "But, you know, everything goes by divine control. We're just the little guy in the street, doing what we got to do."

Farther down the main drag is a white clapboard house with green trim that's home to New Hope Christian Church, at 57 Main St. The house of worship, which preaches conservative Christian values, seems somewhat out of place surrounded by shops predominantly owned by Orthodox and Hasidic Jews.

It was raining, and a couple of Hasidic men had their thumbs out hoping to catch a ride and get a break from the rain.

Several children were walking briskly toward the center of Main Street, most likely coming from
one of the yeshivas at the end of the road or from their homes nearby 
     It's a very special community," Serkez said. "A very honest community with very fine values."