The sample table used comes from the Obsidian help vault. It doesn’t use pipes at the start and end of rows.
First Header | Second Header
------------ | ------------
Content from cell 1 | Content from cell 2
Content in the first column | Content in the second column
The Markdown Guide recommends using leading and trailing pipes.
To add a table, use three or more hyphens (—) to create each column’s header, and use pipes (|) to separate each column. For compatibility, you should also add a pipe on either end of the row.
| First Header | Second Header |
| ------------ | ------------ |
| Content from cell 1 | Content from cell 2 |
| Content in the first column | Content in the second column |
So for compatibility it is best to use the leading and trailing pipes, but they aren’t necessary if working in Obsidian alone. And adding a single pipe on the header line does cause the table to wrap in the editor if using the syntax suggested by Obsidian, in Obsidian.
If using leading and trailing pipes, users can get some wrapping in the editor by entering a paragraph return above the row / rows being edited and then removing the return afterwards to bring the table back into the correct format.
Alternatively, a backslash \ before the header row will cause the whole table to wrap while editing. It does need to be removed afterwards or the first pipe will appear in cell A1 as part of the column title. If using linked panes, with the editor in one pane and reading view in the other, users can at least see how the table is formatting while editing (and without having to scroll sideways in the editor).
\| First Header | Second Header |
| ------------ | ------------ |
| Content from cell 1 | Content from cell 2 Content from cell 2Content from cell 2Content from cell 2 |
| Content in the first column | Content in the second column Content in the second columnContent in the second columnContent in the second columnContent in the second columnContent in the second columnContent in the second column|
Angel