More about Getting Started

Important Announcements

Feel free to add whatever you know and others will fill in the gaps but there's three simple things to keep in mind:

1. Please be careful when contributing to halachipedia, since people may be relying on it for halacha. To ensure accuracy, all work will be reviewed to make sure it is correct and has sources.
2. In terms of content, please stick to pure halacha. This site is not intended for Divrei Torah on the Parsha, Lumdus, or Hashkafa and certainly this is not a forum about hot topics in Judaism.
3. Lastly, as the content is only as strong as its references, please try to source all information.

B'ezrat Hashem we will be able to create an accurate and useful resource for the average Jewish American who has access to the internet.

How to edit Halachipedia

Wiki coding is relatively simple to learn and use, but it's not always so intuitive, and so it would be a good idea to first read some very brief help guides before adding content.

Step 1: Create a New Page

• Unlike most websites whereby you create a new page and subsequently connect the new page to the main site via a link, in a wiki you first have to create the link and then the page. When you create the link, it will be to a blank page. Then when you click on this blank page, it will give you the option of adding content, so that it’s no longer blank.
• Therefore, the first thing to do is decide where your halachik article would belong within our topical categories as displayed on the left sidebar.
  • For instance, “The Laws of Shema” would fall within the “Prayer” category.
• Next, you need to create the link. To do this, click the edit tab towards the top of the page. From here you’ll see a large editable text box with all sorts of strange looking coding symbols. Find where you should add your link and surround the title with double brakets
  • For instance [[Laws of Shema]] = Laws of Shema
• A red link means that it's an empty page, which you can then click on and add content

Step 2: Adding Content

• To make a simple page, there are really only a few codes you should know

1. Subtopics have == before and after ==
2. Bullet points use the asterisk sign *
3. Numbers use the pound sign #
4. References require two things:
   1. Each individual reference needs <ref> before and </ref> afterwards
   2. And, at the very bottom of the page, you must include: ==Notes== <references/>

Here's an example:

According to scientists, the Sun is pretty big.<ref>E. Miller, The Sun, (New York: Academic Press, 2005), 23-5.</ref>
The Moon, however, is not so big.<ref>R. Smith, "Size of the Moon", Scientific American, 46 (April 1978): 44-6.</ref>

==Notes==
<references/>

Links

• More Advanded Wiki Coding Help
• How to Add and Edit Images