TT · Parashas Mikeitz · Passuk 44:16
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוּדָ֗ה מַה־נֹּאמַר֙ לַֽאדֹנִ֔י מַה־נְּדַבֵּ֖ר וּמַה־נִּצְטַדָּ֑ק הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים מָצָא֙ אֶת־עֲוֺ֣ן עֲבָדֶ֔יךָ הִנֶּ֤נּוּ עֲבָדִים֙ לַֽאדֹנִ֔י גַּם־אֲנַ֕חְנוּ גַּ֛ם אֲשֶׁר־נִמְצָ֥א הַגָּבִ֖יעַ בְּיָדֽוֹ׃
Judah replied, “What can we say to my lord? How can we plead, how can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered the crime of your servants. Here we are, then, slaves of my lord, the rest of us as much as the one in whose possession the goblet was found.”
Torah Temimah points to Shabbos 105a.
ומה נצטדק. אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק, מניין לנוטריקו״ן מן התורה, שנאמר ומה נצטדק, נצטד״ק – נוטריקו״ן נכונים אנחנו, צדיקים אנחנו, טהורים אנחנו, דכים אנחנו, קדושים אנחנו.
English of Core Text: “And how shall we clear ourselves?” Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak said: From where do we know notarikon in the Torah? As it is said, “And how shall we clear ourselves (nitz tadak)?” — notarikon: We are upright (nechonim), righteous (tzaddikim), pure (tehorim), clean (dakkim), holy (kedoshim).
On the daf / in context: The Gemara cites Yehudah’s word as a classic example of notarikon derived from the Torah itself.
Type of Learning: Derash on the verse (Bavli) — notarikon / one of the methods associated with the 32 middot of R’ Eliezer.
What Is Learned: The word “nitz tadak” is read as a notarikon expressing a five-fold claim of innocence and purity on the part of the brothers.