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Each of the initial ten individuals who form a minyan receive reward not only for their own prayer, but also for the prayers of all the subsequent arrivals. The reason for this is that each Jew who joins the group adds a higher level of sanctity to the gathering. At the point where there are ten, the roup reaches the critical mass where they fuse as a minyan, with a level of kedushah that elevates the level of all the prayers being uttered. Although all subsequent arrivals, no matter how numerous, do add dimensions of sanctity, they are merely tapping into the power of the minyan, which was already established by the first ten. As such, the ten who established the kedushah of the minyan are credited with the merit of the entire congregation.

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