There are thousands of stories and images in Israel that this Jewish American feels he must watch, read about and view.

Images of babies, young people, middle aged people and old people burned, shot and beheaded at the hands of Jew-hating terrorists. 

The stories about hostages of all ages ripped out of their homes or kidnapped as they danced at a celebratory music festival that are told to us by anxious, worried and waiting relatives hoping for their return but fearing, well, the worst.

Not to mention the decimation of nearby Gaza to piles of concrete rubble, leaving homeless tens of thousands of Palestinians being used as human shields by the terrorists who have ruled over the territory for far too long.

And yet, life somehow goes on.

Said Jewish American, aka The Chair, is on deadline for a book he’s co-writing with his husband, Stephen Tropiano – a detailed and complete update to the latter’s Saturday Night Live FAQ: Everything Left to Know About Television’s Longest-Running Comedy.

Talk about being at odds with oneself and one’s tasks.

Or perhaps not.

Saturday Night Live returned this week for its 49^th season, after a more than five-month hiatus due to the writers’ strike, with the unenviable task of making us laugh.

And as if that wasn’t challenging enough, former cast member Pete Davidson, a guy whose mental health you can’t help worrying just a little bit about each time he appears live onstage, or even out in public, was tapped as the season’s first host.

What could possibly go right?

Well, his short opening segment did.

Referencing the destruction and trauma in both Israel and Gaza resulting from a terrorist attack, Davidson recalled the trauma he experienced as a 7-year old boy when his own father, NYC fireman Scott Davidson, was killed in another terrorist attack, this one at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

Then he spoke about the images of the suffering children of Israel and Palestine, admitting it took him back to his own suffering and that no one in this world deserves to suffer like that, especially not kids.

He followed that with a couple of anecdotes of life without his Dad, noting that in his case he realized sometimes comedy is the only way forward in the face of tragedy.

And with that being his case he planned on doing what he’s always done in the face of tragedy, try to be funny, adding:

Remember, I said try.

For the next 90 minutes there were times he succeeded and others where, well, okay, at least he tried. 

But in the end that’s all any of us can do, right? 

Try. 

Then try to be better.

On that note, here’s a look at his opening:

And here, just for a laugh, is the silliest, most ridiculous SNL sketch I could find that you likely have NEVER seen, since it was cut for time from one long ago episode. 

Shalom.