If you build a building, a highhhhhh beautiful building, and it doesn't have a solid foundation - it can't stand.
Torah doesn't stand on its own. It stands on a foundation. Hashem didn't create the world and give the Torah immediately.
First - there was Abraham.
ABRAHAM!!!
He was promised ארץ ישראל. The FIRST words said to him by Hashem was "GO from your land to the Land I will show you" which it turns out is ארץ ישראל.
So first is a Jew, the first Jew, and he is promised ארץ ישראל.
Then - Hasem builds a nation. Little by little. Before Har Sinai - there was עם ישראל. The Good, the Very-Good, the Not-So-Good, the Pretty and the Not-So-Pretty.
So now we have the promise [and command] of ארץ ישראל and the מציאות of עם ישראל.
Those are the foundations.
Theeeeeen we receive the Torah.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
אשר בחר בנו מכל העמים and then ונתן לנו את תורתו.
We need the foundations and ON TOP OF THAT we need Torah.
So people focus on the foundations and forget the building [to varying degrees]. Others focus on the building and forget the foundations.
We need BOTH.
ארץ ישראל ועם ישראל - ותורת ישראל.